Promises
by rhapsodybree
Summary: "Promise only what you can deliver. Then deliver more than you promise." : When her daughter's father is released from prison, Allie swore that she was going to do everything she could to keep the man away from Mia. Allie Kingston/Nick Buchanan.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.

**Author's Note: **This is story leads on from my previous fic 'Mia'. (You don't need to read this fic first in order to follow this story, but it would help.) This means that Allie Kingston has a five year old daughter that the team has only just discovered exists, and she has known Nick for a long time. It is set in the current television series (ish) – for example, it will include Bernice Waverley's dislike of Kingston – but will also obviously feature some slight differences!

Enjoy!

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'Why do we always get the shitty interviews?' complained Allie as they stepped up onto the veranda.

'Must be your sparkling personality,' responded Nick drily as he pressed the doorbell.

'Well, aren't you just the charmer this morning,' retorted Allie as her partner shrugged.

'You should just be thankful that I volunteered to go with you,' said Nick as he raised his hand to the door and knocked when there was no response. 'I think Waverley was _this _close to sending you off with Simon.'

'Thank you my knight in shining armour,' she responded in an exaggerated tone as she tried to get a look into the house. 'You got anything?'

'Sarcasm really is just second nature to you isn't it,' said Nick mildly, looking into a window of his own. 'And no I don't.'

Neither was prepared for the front door to suddenly come flying open and for a heavily built man to fill the space. 'Whadya want?'

Thankful that neither of them had been standing in front of the door at the time, Nick flashed his badge as Allie stepped around the flyscreen. 'I'm Detective Buchanan and this is Detective Kingston. We'd like to talk to you about a murder that happened this morning.'

'What murder?' said the man, looking at them blearily.

'Your neighbours were killed this morning Mr...?' prompted Allie.

'Cash. Beau Cash.'

'Mr Cash,' confirmed Nick. 'Could we come in?'

Nick Buchanan stood back as Allie Kingston interviewed the drunkard who quite possibly was their best witness in this case. He could see that the man was getting fidgety and edgy, but he restrained himself from stepping forward and interfering.

If Allie wanted help, she'd ask for it.

He stood with his arms crossed as Allie continued to push Mr Cash for an answer – and hopefully a description of the man that had broken into the house next door the previous evening and murdered the elderly couple. Thankfully the young grandchild they had been looking after hadn't been touched.

Turning away from the futile exercise, he took in their surroundings. It wasn't much to look at. The walls were a very faded cream colour, with what he suspected were the remains of a long term use of cigarettes and other narcotics colouring the walls to a colour that only somewhat remotely resembled the white it used to be. Their 'witness' sat upon a faded, ripped couch that was up against one wall, with a television pushed back against another. A single photo was on the wall behind him and as he leaned in closer, he saw that it held an image of four men with their arms wrapped around each other.

Any interest in the photo was dismissed when Mr Cash leaped off the couch. His hand went instantly for his gun, but he lifted his hand as any plan that Mr Cash had fizzled as he promptly tripped over his own feet and fell to the floor. Bending down to check on the man, he found him muttering about the 'doggies' as he attempted to snuggle into the carpet as if it were a bed.

'What on earth did you say to him?' he asked Allie as he stood up once again. 'Why is it always something I said?'

'In my considerable experience, that's nearly always the case.'

He could see that she was reigning in her desire to poke her tongue out at him, and he had his suspicions that as he stepped out the front door she had given in to her desire and done so. Calling over a uniform from the house next door, he gave the orders for the officer to remain with Mr Cash until he awoke.

Parking the car in the station underground carpark forty minutes later, Nick turned off the car as Allie gave off a huge yawn in the seat next to him. 'Late night?' he questioned as they stepped out of the car. 'It's Book Week,' she responded as a means of an explanation.

'Ah,' said Nick knowingly. 'And so how is the little spider costume going?'

'Slowly, but surely,' groaned Allie as they stepped into the elevator. The doors began to close, but Nick stuck his hand out to halt them when Jennifer Mapplethorpe's voice called out. 'Hold the lift.'

A puffed Matthew Ryan and Jen stepped into the lift seconds later as Allie pressed the button again and the doors closed. 'How did you go with the baby's parents?' asked Nick as Matt nodded his head. 'Not too bad. You?'

'Meh,' responded Allie as they climbed to their level.

'That good eh?' laughed Jen as the doors opened on their level and Allie stepped out.

'That good,' agreed Nick as he followed Allie out and almost ran into the back of her. He grips her shoulders to steady himself as Matt and Jen step around him, an officer steps on and the elevator doors shut. But none of this registers on Allie who still hasn't moved from the spot until she flies around and shoots daggers at him. 'What do you know?'

Wondering what on earth it was that he was supposed to know, Nick raised his arms in surrender as he looked at Allie's furious face before looking beyond her to see what it was that had set her off, and seemingly put him into hot water.

'Hollyoake...'

He opened his mouth to explain himself, but the Superintendent beat him to it.

'Detective Kingston? A word,' said Bernice Waverley and he watched as Allie sent him a distressed look before she followed her boss and Peter Hollyoake into the office.

Crap.

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_Coming Up: _Just who is Peter Hollyoake, and what does it mean for Allie?


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.

Allie Kingston took a deep breath as she stepped into Superintendent Waverley's office.

'Sit down,' said Waverley as she stood in front of her own chair behind the desk opposite them. As Hollyoake took a seat, Allie crossed her arms over her chest. 'I'll stand if you don't mind.'

'Suit yourself,' responded her boss as she took her own seat. 'I believe that you know Sergeant Hollyoake.'

'Senior Sergeant now,' interrupted the man as Allie stiffened.

'Yes ma'am,' was the tight response as she flicked a quick glance to the man seated less than a metre away from her. 'I know Senior Sergeant Hollyoake.' Peter Hollyoake had lead the Internal Affairs investigation into the failed Keith Ryan Bacchus operation all those years ago – that same operation that she had been sent undercover for. The op had failed and they hadn't gotten to her quick enough. The morning after, Hollyoake had been over all their cases like flies to honey, pulling apart all their actions one by one.

The last she had seen or heard from him had been six months later when he'd handed her a piece of paper to be signed that set out what the police department would do for her and the child that had somehow come about from this unfortunate incident.

Keith Ryan Bacchus had been sentenced to jail for twenty years, and she had moved from Sydney to Melbourne, changing police departments after her maternity leave. If Peter Hollyoake were here now this did not bode well for her – or her daughter.

Rousing herself from the dark thoughts, she listened as Superintendent Waverley went about doing what she did best with tact. 'Sergeant, sorry Senior Sergeant, Hollyoake is here as a professional courtesy to discuss a number of things with you. I am not fully sure about as to why he wishes to speak with you, however...'

She'd had enough of this bullshit. It was time to get to the point. 'Why are you here?'

As Waverley sent her an admonishing look at the interruption, she ignored her boss as she looked Hollyoake in the eye. 'Well?'

'As Superintendent Waverley was about to explain,' said Hollyoake with extreme politness. 'I have some news that may be of interest to you. I'm only here out of a professional courtesy.'

'Courtesy, my ass,' snorted Allie as she tightened her arms around herself. 'You only do what suits you. You always have.'

'Detective Kingston, that is enough,' interjected Waverley as Hollyoake raised his hand with a patronising look. 'It is okay Superintendent, Allegra and I go a fair way back.'

'Don't call me that,' hissed Allie.

'Allegra,' persisted Hollyoake as he fully faced her. 'I'm here to tell you that a prisoner will soon be released from the Silverwater Correctional Facility.'

'No,' said Allie coming to a realisation. 'Please don't tell me that...'

'Bacchus will be free in two weeks,' confirmed Hollyoake without a sign of remorse, or indeed any emotion.

'Why?' cried Allie as she stepped back. 'How?'

'The Department of Justice has decided that Bacchus has behaved in such a manner appropriate that he is fit to be returned to society prior to the conclusion of his sentence,' reeled off Hollyoake in a scripted manner.

'I don't believe it,' said Allie as she felt herself sag against the wall behind her.

'I really wish that someone would advise me on just what exactly is going on,' interjected Waverley as she looked between her detective and their visitor.

'Allow me to enlighten you ma'am,' said Hollyoake eagerly as he focused on the Superintendent once again. 'Constable Kingston here was involved in a operation six years ago that attempted to bring down Keith Ryan Bacchus. Her operation failed, but we did manage to catch Bacchus not long after...'

If she had been able to think clearly she would have had a few choice words to say on Hollyoake's story telling – primarily being to the assumption that it was her fault that the operation failed – but Allie was still struggling to breathe as the reality of the situation hit her.

'... and so to cut that long story short,' continued Hollyoake smugly. 'I thought it my duty to come all the way down here to Melbourne and advise your constable of the fact that Bacchus would be released soon, seeing as he is the father of Allegra's child.'

'Detective Kingston?' said Waverley incredulously as she turned her attention to her detective. 'Why was I never told of this?' Allie pushed herself off the wall as she faced them both with a hard look on her face.

'Piss off.'

Allie Kingston wasn't the only one who was pissed off.

When work was finished for the day, Nick Buchanan headed to the bar where a mate of his said he could find Pete Hollyoake. Stepping inside the door, his eyes sought out his target. It didn't take him long to find him.

Hollyoake was sitting on the far end of the bar doing what appeared to be talking to a blonde haired woman, but he had his suspicions that Pete would be looking for more. He'd always had a thing for the ladies. Marching down the bar, he threw his suit jacket onto the back of the stool as he gained the barman's attention and ordered a beer. It's only when he folds his shirt sleeves up another notch and takes a sip of his drink that the man next to him sensed his arrival and turned away from blondie.

'Nick.'

'Pete,' he replied just as shortly.

'Long time, no see,' said Hollyoake as he raised his drink as if to make a toast. Nick declined to tap the glass as he maintained his steady gaze on the man before him. 'Was hoping that I wouldn't have to see you for some time yet.'

'Oh come on, is that how you greet an old friend?' scoffed Hollyoake jovially as he called the barman over for another fill up. 'He's paying,' he added, pointing at Nick.

The barman looked to him uncertainly before Nick inclined his head in consent and turned back to Hollyoake. 'What are you doing here Pete?'

'You don't know?' said Pete incredulously taking a gulp of his newly filled glass. 'Thought you would have sussed it out already. Haven't you asked Kingston?'

'I have asked her,' said Nick levelling his gaze. 'But I want to know what you have to say about it.'

'Bacchus is out,' said Hollyoake waving his glass in the air. 'That's all there is to it.'

'How?' responded Nick, showing some emotion for the first time. 'Or as a matter of fact why?'

'Crowded prisons. Good behaviour. Brilliant lawyer. Pick your poison,' shrugged Hollyoake as he downed his whiskey. 'I'm more inclined to think it was the big shot lawyer, but hey.'

'Why didn't I know about this?' asked Nick in a hard tone as Bacchus met him eye for eye and his own voice hardened in response. 'You ain't IA anymore Buchanan.'

'Maybe not, but this case is personal. You owe that to me,' swore Nick as Hollyoake began to move.

'I owe you nothing,' responded the man harshly as he slid of the stool and groped for his jacket. 'I'm going to leave now.'

Nick made no move to stop him as he raised his voice slightly. 'Tell me one thing though.'

There was a moment of pause before Hollyoake stopped, sighing as he turned back to the determined man. 'What?'

'Please tell me he doesn't know about Mia.'

The answer he received wasn't promising.

_Next Chapter:_ Maybe he'll stay away?


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.

Two weeks later Allie Kingston opened the interview room door and gestured for Jean Fitzroy to enter the room. She tried her best to cover her yawn as Duncan Freeman stepped in after the woman. She hadn't been sleeping too well lately.

Placing her file on the table, she took a seat opposite the middle-aged woman in front of her. The woman may be a hairdresser, but she was wearing far too much make up, and that shade of blonde was leaning dangerously close to a shade that would require everyone around her to wear sunglasses.

She flipped open her file as Duncan prepared to begin the interview, but they were beaten to it when Jean Fitzroy leaned back in her chair, crossed her legs, clasped her hands in her lap and tut-tutted as she looked at her. 'Oh honey. The things we need to do with your hair. You need a good three hours at my salon. Perhaps with a miracle your hair could come alive.'

'Hair's the last thing on my mind in the morning,' muttered Allie under her breath. The Kingston girls were _not_ morning people, and it was a mad dash to get out the door each morning. Her comment mattered not as Jean had already turned her attention onto Duncan. 'But you on the other hand – what product are you using?'

She hid her smirk as Duncan fumbled slightly before correcting himself and addressing their interviewee. 'Ms Fitzroy...'

'Miss Fitzroy,' interrupted the woman simpering at Duncan. 'Not married or otherwise engaged.'

'Miss Fitzroy,' consented Duncan wryly before he grew serious. 'Albert, Monica and Julie Kew were found dead in their house early yesterday morning.'

'Hmm. I heard,' said Jean, still reclining. 'Horrible business that. The world is now shorter two people that will be sorely missed.'

'Only two?' questioned Allie. 'Who's off your Christmas card list?'

'Let's just say that the world is better off without Monica spreading her lies and deceit around the place,' said Jean in a matter of fact tone.

'And this is the same Monica that is your client right?' Jean nodded stiffly as Allie continued. 'Why did you continue to do her hair if you hated her so much?'

'Well, I'm the best aren't I?' scoffed Jean. 'And Miss Monica could never accept anything but that. That, and she paid good money.'

'Monica Kew had an appointment with you on Tuesday afternoon,' said Duncan. 'Witnesses say that the two of you had an argument.'

'Not so much an argument as a clash of creative licences,' corrected Jean with a raised finger. 'If she was so sure that she was right about the dye, why doesn't she just do her own hair?'

'Apparently you threatened to shave off her hair and feed it to her,' said Duncan as Allie added her thoughts. 'Sounds like it was more than a clash of 'creative licences'.'

'Ha. That was a tame one,' scoffed Jean. 'You should have seen us when we were in full fight mode. They were some shows,' laughed Jean lightly in memoriam. 'Insults were how we communicated.'

'How well do you know Albert and Julie Kew?' asked Duncan after a pause.

'I've know Albert for a few years and Julie would come into the shop sometimes for a haircut,' said Jean nodding her head. 'I used to do the older daughter's hair too until she moved away.' Jean leaned forward as she spoke her next words. 'Oh God. Have Susie and Chad been told?'

Her question was ignored as Duncan pressed on. 'Where were you Tuesday night between the hours of 7pm and midnight?'

'At home. And then asleep.'

'Can anyone verify that?' pressed Allie as Jean gave her a look. 'Unless you speak cat, no they can't.'

'And to confirm, Tuesday afternoon was the last time that you had any contact with Monica Kew?' asked Duncan, pen to paper as he looked at the woman intently.

'Yes,' said Jean impatiently. 'What are you trying to imply? That I killed Monica?'

'Well did you?' asked Allie bluntly.

'No!'

'We'll be in touch.'

When Allie and Duncan entered the bullpen not long after, Jennifer Mapplethorpe looked up from her computer in amusement. 'So what product do you use Dunny boy? I hear your hair made quite an impression.'

Any response that Duncan could have made was stifled when Jarvis left the observation room and stepped around Allie and Duncan. 'Well people, do we have any more progress?'

'I was looking into the background of the three victims, and guess what I came across?' said Jen reading from the computer screen. 'Monica Lalor was arrested in 1974 for possession – and guess who was her co-accused?'

'Well put us out of our misery,' prompted Jarvis as Jen turned with a flourish. 'Jean Fitzroy.'

'Ah, so it would appear that our victim and the hairdresser have a history. Interesting,' nodded Jarvis as Matthew Ryan then lifted up his head from his own computer. 'And that's not the only connection I've got. I was going through the cell phone and house phone history of Monica Kew and she made a call to a mobile at 7:52pm on the night she died. The call lasted seven minutes.'

'And?' said Jarvis exasperatedly.

'The mobile belonged to Jean Fitzroy.'

Nick Buchanan and Simon Joyner then stepped off the elevator and made their way over to the impromptu campfire session with more news. 'Apparently Albert and Julie Kew weren't supposed to be home on Tuesday night,' declared Simon.

'We spoke with the Malachy Theatre and the ticket person remembered them,' elaborated Nick. 'They'd forgotten their ticket and they couldn't get in. So they went home.'

'That fits with the evidence that the crime was aimed at Monica Kew and the husband and daughter were in the wrong place at the wrong time,' said Matt. They all turn to Jarvis to give the final order. 'Where's Ms Fitzroy now?'

'We just released her,' said Duncan. 'We had nothing to hold her on.'

'Well then, let's get her back in here shall we?'

'Boss, that's probably not a good idea,' said Jen. 'Not without more evidence.'

'Well then, let's get some then shall we?' said Jarvis as he swung around on Allie. 'Let's take up Ms Fitzroy's lovely offer of some hairdressing shall we? Kingston, you're going for a haircut. Freeman – go with but stay out of sight. The rest of you, keep digging.'

When Jen discovered that Monica Lalor and Jean Fitzroy had actually gone to the same high school and that they had been part of a trio known as 'Temper Five', she left with Matt to interview the third member of their gang: Jennifer McElhinney. Simon was off god knows where, and thus Nick was alone when the phone call came through.

When Pete Hollyoake had arrived out of the blue with the announcement that Keith Ryan Bacchus would soon be released, he'd blasted his old colleague for not telling him about it. Not trusting him to tell him anything more, he'd gotten in touch with another mate from the taskforce who was now working with the AFP. As he answered his mobile with a 'Buchanan' and heard the voice of Phillip Briatore, his heart sunk. It had been bad enough to discover that Bacchus knew of Mia's existence and as he listened to Phil's voice, it looked like things weren't going to get any better.

'Hey Nicko. This is your heads up. Bacchus was released two days ago.'

'Two days ago?' responded Nick. 'Where is he now?'

'Well, I pulled in a few favours and it looks like he boarded a plane to Melbourne yesterday.'

'He can do that?' said Nick incredulously.

'Conditions of his release only say he can't leave the country – said nothing about moving states,' Phil responded.

'Damnit,' muttered Nick. The guy was now _in _Melbourne. 'I owe you one.'

'I'll hold you to it.'

Hanging up, he hit speed dial to make another call. Bacchus had been in Melbourne for over 24 hours and so he could be anywhere. He wasn't so naive to think that Bacchus was just 'in the area' for a 'holiday'. 'Come on, pick up,' he muttered as the phone rang out. Arising from his chair, he tried once again.

Passing Allie's desk, he heard the tell-tale ring tone of her mobile. Slipping his mobile into his shirt pocket, he followed the ring. Her desk drawer was empty, and as he picked up her bag from nearby and placed it on her desk, he swore under his breath. 'Today was not the day to forget your phone Al.'

He was elbow deep in her bag when Simon entered into the bullpen and looked at him strangely. 'What are you doing?'

He ignored the detective momentarily as he pulled the desired object free and hung up the call. 'Allie forgot her phone.'

'What's so important that you need to contact her for?' questioned Simon.

This gave him pause. The team now knew of the existence of Mia – the little monster's arrival at the station with her babysitter some weeks ago having made that apparent – but they didn't know anything about the Bacchus situation. Only he, Waverley and Allie herself were aware of these circumstances.

'Never mind,' he finally said, before he reached for his mobile once again. 'I'll try Duncan.'

'Duncan's not with Kingston,' said Simon helpfully. 'I just got off the phone with him. He's left Allie at the hairdresser and is talking with one of the salon employees at her place.'

Short of driving out to her himself, he had no way to contact her and warn her that Bacchus is now officially out – and not only that – officially out and free in Melbourne.

As the taxi pulled up in front of the police station, Allie fiercely pulled her newly styled and subtly highlighted hair into her standard ponytail once again. Hair dangling in her face for the past twenty minutes had been more than she could handle. Accepting the receipt from the taxi driver to hand to the admin department, she stepped out of the car and was met with a sight that made her freeze, the blood chilling in her veins.

Walking down the steps was a man that she had hoped to never see again – though he had visited her nightmares every night since Hollyoake's visit exactly thirteen days ago.

Keith Ryan Bacchus.

He hadn't changed that much. He still had those deceptively charming and handsome features, a cool and easy manner about him and that supreme confidence that just seemed to radiate from his every pore. She hadn't been able to stand the man when she had first met him all those years ago, and as she looked at him now, the feelings hadn't changed.

Realising that Bacchus hadn't seen her yet, she swiftly made a move to her left and made for the far side of the steps, but his voice floated from beside her just seconds later as she turned and found herself face to face with her daughter's father.

'Well, well. If it isn't Allegra Kingston. It has been a while,' said the man as if he were greeting a long lost friend.

'What are you doing here Bacchus?' said Allie fiercely as she gripped the rail behind her.

'Just got a few things to tidy up etc,' was the vague response as Allie squeezed tighter. _Don't punch him. Don't punch him, _she repeated to herself. 'I have no business with you Bacchus. And so I don't ever want to see you again.'

'On the contrary my dear, I believe that we have several things in common that will result in several more meetings between us,' laughed Bacchus as Allie saw red. 'You stay away from her.'

A new voice entered the fray when Nick came down the stairs. 'Move on Bacchus.'

'I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting before,' said Bacchus in a slimy tone, stretching out his hand to the new arrival to be shaken.

'Can't say I'm looking for the pleasure,' responded Nick in a hard tone, keeping his arms firmly by his side, standing next to Allie. 'You're not welcome here.'

'It's a free country,' said Bacchus throwing his arms out around him.

'Well go be free somewhere else,' shot back Nick as Bacchus' face hardened for a moment before the glittering smile was in place once again.

'This isn't over,' promised Bacchus as Allie glowered at the retreating figure. 'Not by a long mile.'

She released the breath she didn't know she was holding as she felt tears prick the corners of her eyes. _Damnit, she was stronger than this. _She almost broke when Nick rested a hand on her shoulder and gave her a concerned look. Shrugging off his hand she turned on her heel and marched up the steps into the station.

She knew that he wasn't close behind.

Feeling a slightly better as she furiously wrenched the front door open, she stormed across the foyer, intent on reaching the elevators, but was approached by a uniform. 'Detective Kingston?'

'What?' she snapped as the officer took a step back. She gestured impatiently at him to continue. The young man eyed her warily before he spoke quickly. 'A man came to see you. Said his name was Bacchus and that it was vital that you call him. Apparently you have something of his.'

'Godamnit.'

_Next Chapter:_ He's back, and somehow she didn't think he was going away any time soon.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.

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Standing at the stove, Allie Kingston listened with half an ear as her daughter chattered about her day at preschool.

'We've got two new kids in our class,' said the four year old.

'Mm hmm,' said Allie as she stirred the pasta sauce.

'Their names are Estella and Astara,' continued Mia with a nod. 'Their faces are the same but they dress really differently so I can tell the difference between them. I think I like Astara better, but they are both cool to play with. They just moved here a couple of days ago.'

Happy with where her pasta sauce and spaghetti is at, Allie adjusts a knob and turns away from the stove to give her full attention to her daughter who was sitting on the kitchen bench opposite her. 'Oh yeah? Where did they come from?'

She grins as Mia scrunches up her face in concentration. 'Too... Toomba... No... Toomboowa...'

'Toowoomba?' prompts Allie as Mia raises her hand and nods her head enthusiastically. 'That's the one. Where's that? Estella says she's a Banana Bender, but we don't have a banana state do we?'

'Banana benders are people that come from Queensland. I'm pretty sure that Toowoomba's in Queensland too,' Allie explained. 'We'll have to check it out after dinner.'

'Okay.'

As Mia then went off on a tangent and started talking about something else, Allie moved to the right and opened the fridge. Shutting the door, her heart clenched as she leaned against the refrigerator and took a moment to look at her little miracle. The last four – almost five – years had been tough raising her daughter as a single mother, but looking at the brown haired rugrat sitting on the kitchen bench swinging her legs she knew that she wouldn't change anything for the world. No one – and nothing – was going to come between her and her daughter. Ever.

Pushing off the appliance Allie made her way back over and pulled her daughter into a fierce hug. There were no tears in her eyes, she swore as she eased back and saw the innocent eyes of Mia looking up at her.

'I love you so much you know?' said Allie.

'Yep, I know Mummy,' said Mia cheerily. 'Can I have some carrot?'

Allie couldn't help but laugh. 'Sure.'

Dropping the bag of carrots to the bench, she pulled out the large chopping board from behind the dish rack and placed it on the bench as Mia picked up the bag and twisted the plastic tie. Needing the peeler from the drawer – the same drawer that was currently obstructed by Mia's legs – Allie told her daughter to move. 'Scooch.'

'How many carrots do we need?' asked Mia once her legs were dangling once again. 'We'll need more cos Nicky's coming right?'

How many did they need? After Bacchus had arrived at the station that afternoon and confronted her, Allie felt like she'd left her body and gotten through the rest of the afternoon like a robot. Honestly, if you'd asked what she'd said at the debrief meeting, she couldn't have told you.

Clocking off time had been less than an hour away, but never had an hour felt so long before. The second hand had moved so slowly and she'd only looked away when Jarvis had addressed her. 'Are we keeping you from something important Kingston?'

She'd been tempted to cite an emergency, but she kept her mouth shut. She just wanted to get home without an explanation and the faster this meeting was wrapped up, the quicker that she could get out of there. Come 5pm she was out the door (so to speak) but she didn't get very far when Nick stopped her at the elevator.

No matter how much she'd protested otherwise, Nick was determined that she wouldn't be alone tonight. 'Bacchus is out there and there is no way in hell that I'm leaving you and Mia at home alone. He might make a move tonight.'

'You're making me feel so much better,' she remembered responding tightly before finally giving in. The more time she spent arguing with Nick, the longer it would take for her to pick up her daughter. 'Fine,' she'd huffed. 'I'll see you later.'

Which brought her back to this point in time. They had a guest tonight. Allie's eyes find Mia's questioning ones, her small hand already holding two carrots in anticipation of her response. 'Three carrots should be enough squirt.'

Mia was happily chomping on half a carrot and Allie was adding the grated carrot to the pasta sauce when the doorbell rang. Pushing in the remainder of the vegetable from the cutting board, Allie gave it a quick stir before shoving the cutting board onto the bench.

Seeing her daughter absent from the counter, she swore as she quickly wiped her hands on the handtowel and dashed for the front door just in time to see Mia throw the door open and chomp on her carrot as she declared 'What's up Doc?' to the person on the doorstep.

'Don't open the door unless you know who it is,' admonished Allie as she stepped into the small hall.

'But it's Nicky,' protested Mia as she turned to her mother.

'Did you know that before you opened the door?' Allie responded with a raised eyebrow as Nick looked on in amusement.

'No...' said Mia slowly before she decided to ignore it all and turned back to their new arrival. 'Come in! I haven't seen you in aaaggggeess.'

Allie slipped back into the kitchen as Nick laughed and swung Mia up into his arms. 'I saw you six days ago. It wasn't that long ago.'

Mia shook her head stubbornly as they walked toward the kitchen. 'Ages!'

Dinner was on the table within half an hour and after a loud conversation that mostly revolved around Mia and her regaling of her preschool stories and other various activities, they moved to the lounge room. As Mia's bed time drew closer, the determined youngster tried her best to push off the looming event for a few hours. 'Hey Nicky, look over there.'

Nick obliged the young girl by turning. Finding nothing of interest he looked back and saw Mia had a huge smile plastered on her face. 'Made you look you dirty chook!'

Allowing her daughter to continue poking fun at Nick for another five minutes, Allie issued her orders. 'Bed time Mia.'

'But why?' whined the four year old as she ran around the couch. Allie didn't move. 'You have school tomorrow.'

'So?' questioned Mia with a badly disguised yawn. 'I'm not sleepy,' she added with yet another yawn.

'Sure,' said Allie as Mia bounced up and down on her feet. 'Say good night to Nick.'

Any objection that Mia might have voiced next died on the edge of her lips as she looked at her mother's face. Sulkily she marched around the couch and gave Nick a big hug and a kiss, which was reciprocated. 'Sweet dreams sprout.'

'G'night,' she waved as Allie swatted her butt and Mia raced for the back of the house.

When Allie returned to the front of the house twenty minutes later, she laughed as she described her daughter's behaviour. 'She refuses to go to sleep when she thinks that something is on!' She found no response as the lounge room was empty. Hearing clattering in the room nearby, Allie crossed the hall to the kitchen. There stood Nick with his shirt sleeves rolled up drying the last of the dishes at her sink.

'You didn't have to wash up,' said Allie from the doorway as Nick shrugged his shoulders and placed the spoon next to the stack of plates. 'The least I could do. You cooked after all.'

'If you call that cooking.'

'Hey, I gave a compliment,' defended Nick as he hung up the tea towel once again. 'Gotta say, your skills have improved.'

Allie snorted as she deposited the cutlery and crockery to their various places in the cupboards and drawers. 'That three course meal you've been hankering for will be another few years yet. Decades maybe.'

'A man can hope,' said Nick as he handed her the last spoon. There was an awkward silence as Allie placed the spoon in the drawer and shut it. Turning to him she ran her hands over her pants before she gestured to the kettle. 'Coffee?'

The coffee turned out to be a glass of red wine each and as both of slouched in their respective chairs, Allie took a sip from her glass. Not wanting to think about Bacchus tonight, she brought up an issue that had been on her mind ever since the professional hitman case the week before where Duncan had been shot once again – but this time not fatally. Holding her glass, she eyed the man on the opposite end of the table. 'Can I ask you a question?'

'Sure,' responded Nick from his reclined position, taking a sip of his wine. 'Can't guarantee I'll answer it though.'

'What in the devil is going on with you and Jen?'

'What do you mean?' asked Nick warily as he turned his head to Allie.

'Don't give me that,' responded Allie rolling her eyes. 'You two have got something going on.'

Nick looked at her for a moment before he lifted his feet from the chair and swivelled to fully face her. 'Do you remember the taskforce I was on before I came to Homicide?'

'The counter-terrorism one?' confirmed Allie. 'That's where Jen went?'

Nick nodded. 'Our time did cross over,' he admitted. 'I left not long after she arrived and transferred here.'

'Anything I should be worried about?' asked Allie nonchalantly as Nick released a rare grin and leaned back in his chair. 'Why? Jealous?'

'Jealous of what?' snorted Allie as she sat back in her own and continued crossly. 'You're not much to look at.'

'Ha ha,' said Nick dryly. 'You missed your true calling as a stand up comedian.'

There was silence for a moment before Allie probed again. 'Honestly?'

Nick sighed as he gulped down the remainder of his wine and clasped his hands on the table in front of him before he met Allie's face. 'A man died. A teammate of ours.'

'Oh.'

'It was my idea to run that undercover op,' continued Nick. 'And Tim paid the price when it fell through.'

'Hazards of the job I guess,' said Allie in a low tone as her eyes flickered to the back of the house.

'Yeah,' said Nick. 'Doesn't make it any easier though does it?'

She didn't respond.

Finishing her own glass of wine, Allie reached for Nick's as she stepped around the kitchen bench. Rinsing the glasses, she avoided looking at him. 'You don't have to stay you know? I can defend myself perfectly well and surely the bastard wouldn't be so stupid as to try anything. Plus, the couch isn't that comfy...'

She was interrupted. 'I'll stay.'

'Suit yourself.'

It was the night times that were the worst – it was at these times that all the whats, ifs, buts and maybes came out to play in the darkness of her room and she feared for the future. Tonight was no different, except this time when she woke up from her nightmare and flew up in her bed, sweat drenching her lace-lined singlet top, Nick was standing in the doorway. 'Allie are you okay?'

'What are you doing here?' Allie accused with a quick breath.

'Heard noises,' Nick responded, not bothered by the short tone from the woman in front of him.

'I'm fine,' said Allie as she pulled back the sheets. 'I just need to check on Mia.'

Allie refused to look at Nick as she pushed by him in the doorway and made her way to her daughter's room – just like she had for the last thirteen nights. And tonight was going to be no different. Dropping to her knees next to Mia's bed, she ran her fingers through the short brown hair of the sound asleep child.

She knew that Nick was watching her from the doorway. 'She's fine.'

'Yeah, but for how long?'

********************

_Next Chapter:_ School pickup the following afternoon becomes quite an event.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.

********************

'I understand that the two of you were quite the friends back in the day,' said Matt conversationally. 'So what happened?'

'People change,' gritted Jennifer McElhinney. 'Jean became a hairdresser, Monica married up a class and where did that leave me? Nine months pregnant with a kid that nobody wanted.'

'You must have resented that,' pushed Jen.

'Damn straight,' was the defiant answer from the beauty as she coolly rested her arms on the table, clasped her hands together and looked Jen in the eye. 'My only regret is that I didn't get Jean too.'

Having found their killer, the team worked together to wrap up the case. Allie was in charge of collecting up the files – a task that she was completing with jerking movements – when Bernice Waverley stepped into the room. Jen was in the room with her wiping down the whiteboard and Duncan was also there with the clipboard as the Superintendent praised their efforts in closing the case swiftly. Duncan and Jen murmured various words of thanks as Allie continued to collect up the files.

'Kingston? A word?'

Dumping the files into the box, Allie wondered what she had done wrong now. Smiling tightly at her teammates, she walked around the table and stepped outside the room with her boss.

'Ma'am?' she asked tensely, doing away with her fiddling fingers by crossing them behind her back and looking at the short woman in front of her.

'Go home Kingston.' That was not what she had been expecting. Now thoroughly confused, Allie relaxed her pose as she questioned Waverley warily. 'I'm sorry ma'am?'

'The case has been wrapped up,' continued Waverley, refusing to meet Allie's eyes. 'And if my memory serves me correctly, school finishes at 3:10.'

'3:05,' Allie automatically corrected before it fully hit her. 'Are you letting me leave early ma'am?' she confirmed, a slight trace of disbelief present.

'I think it appropriate in these circumstances,' said Waverley, her attention on the files in her arms as she proceeded to leave the conversation. 'And don't make me say it again.'

'Thank you ma'am,' said Allie joyously, refraining from hugging woman in front of her. Just barely. Sprinting over to her desk, Allie missed the sad look on Waverley's face in her excitement to get out of the building. Opportunities to pick up Mia from school were far and few between, and so she wasn't going to miss this one for the world.

Wishing the train would go faster, Allie tapped her foot impatiently as the train seemed to fill up with petrol at each station. Getting off at the station before home, Allie couldn't help the smile that spread over her face.

Five hurried minutes later, she was at the school. Checking her watch she saw that the time read 3:02. Good, she was early.

Spotting the after school care van that usually took Mia after school, she made her way over. 'Hey Zoe.'

'Hi Allie,' said the young woman, clearly surprised to see her here. 'Are you here to pick up Mia?'

'Yeah,' confirmed Allie. 'So don't worry, you'll be one monster short this afternoon.'

'Gee thanks,' said the woman with a smile as the bell sounded. 'You feel like taking the other five as well?'

Both women laughed as they entered the school gates. Heading for the lower school building, Allie stood stock still as she saw a familiar form leaning against the wall that separated the lower school from the upper school. _Bacchus. _

'Allie?'

'Allie?' repeated Zoe as Allie turned her head to the confused woman. 'You go ahead, I need to see somebody.'

'Okay,' said Zoe. 'I'll see you next week.'

Allie responded with a curt nod and Zoe made for the year 1 classroom as Allie stormed over to the man who was now standing with his arms crossed over his chest as children in various sizes and ages ran by him.

When she grabbed his arm and pulled him around to face her, she could see that his presence had surprised him. 'What the hell are you doing here,' she gritted, mindful of the children around them.

His surprise didn't last long as he retracted his arm and eyed her. 'I'm here to see my daughter.'

She didn't want to think about what would have happened if Zoe had been doing the pickup as per usual. 'I told you to stay away from her.'

'Hey, it's a free country,' responded Bacchus with a smug look.

'Get out of here before I call the cops,' threatened Allie. The two stared each other in the eye before Bacchus raised his arms in surrender. 'Fine. But I'll be in touch. Soon.'

Watching the retreating back of the man who she hadn't thought she could hate anymore, but now officially did, Allie let out a shaky breath. She was never ever ever ever going to say a bad word about Superintendent Waverley ever ever again.

Running her hand over her hair and tugging on the ponytail, she took another deep breath as she suddenly heard her daughter's voice behind her. 'Mummy!'

When Zoe had gone to fetch Tyler Sloan from the pre-primary class, Mia had been ready for her as well. With no written instructions or a phone call advising as to a change in the regular pick up routine, the class teacher had refused to let Mia remain behind. Zoe had a schedule to keep, and knowing where Allie was, had just shrugged and taken Mia as well. And so now, the little brown haired girl was racing as fast as her little legs could – which was pretty fast – toward her mother.

Pushing aside any dark thoughts, Allie smiled as she turned and dropped down low enough just in time to catch Mia in her embrace. Hugging her tightly, she brought her up into her arms, never letting go. Raising her hand in thanks to the departing Zoe, Allie gave her daughter a firm kiss as tears threatened to pool in the corner of her eyes.

'Are you crying Mummy?' said the four year old in a concerned tone as she brushed at her Mummy's face.

'Mummy's not crying baby,' responded Allie with a watery grin. 'I'm just so happy to see you.'

Happy with that explanation, Mia pecked her mother on the lips. 'I'm happy to see you too.'

Dropping Mia to the ground once again, she takes her daughter's bag as they walk hand in hand to the gate. 'Who was that man that you were talking to before?' inquired Mia.

'Nobody,' said Allie, momentarily squeezing her daughter's hand a little tighter. 'That was nobody.'

Home was only a ten minute walk away – fifteen on a lazy day – and as she watched Mia jumping hop-scotch style over the cracks in the pavers, Allie let herself just enjoy the moment. Hopping and jumping over a few herself, she chased her daughter down one stretch of path before they hit a road.

Holding Mia's hand, they both looked right, left and then right again before they crossed and Mia commenced jumping once again.

When her mobile phone beeped and signalled that she had a new message, Allie placed her hand into her pocket to retrieve the object, pushing Mia's bag further up her shoulder when it fell as she continued to walk.

The SMS was from an unknown number and when she opened it, she stood frozen. 'She looks just like me.' _No she doesn't!_ a voice cried within her, even as her other systems began to shut down. _She's mine – not yours. _

'Come on Mummy!' cried Mia, having reached the edge of the road. 'You're going too slow-leee!'

Allie looked at her daughter dumbly. Mia must have sensed that something was wrong as she began to walk toward her. Mia wrapped her arms around Allie's leg as she looked up. 'Mummy? What's wrong?'

Swinging up Mia into her arms, Allie quickly walks the remaining metres to their house. Seating Mia on the low brick fence outside their house, she takes a deep breath as she prepares to explain something to her daughter. 'Mummy has something that she needs to do. Something very important, okay?' said Allie seriously as Mia looked back at her sombrely and nodded.

'I'm going to see if Stella can look after you for an hour okay?' said Allie as she helped Mia off the fence and they walked around the corner. Two houses down from their own, Allie held Mia's hand as she knocked on the door.

It was opened by a teenage boy munching on an apple.

'Hey Georgie!' piped up Mia as Allie smiled tightly. 'Is your mother in?'

'Mum!' called the boy as he held the flyscreen open. 'The Kings are here!'

'It's Kingston!' corrected Mia indignantly, stomping her foot as the boy poked his tongue out. 'King-ston.'

'Ssh, sweetheart,' admonished Allie before turning her attention to the new arrival. 'Stella – I'm so sorry, but I was wondering if you could watch Mia for an hour.'

'Well sure Allie,' said Stella in a concerned tone. 'Is something wrong?'

'It's nothing,' she said, her voice breaking. 'I just need you to watch Mia for a bit.'

'Mummy?' said Mia in a small voice, tugging on her mother's hand. Allie crouched down to Mia's level as squeezed her daughter's shoulders. 'I'll be back sweetheart. Be a good girl for Georgie and Stella okay?'

'Okay,' said Mia, giving Allie a big hug.

'I love you,' said Allie placing a kiss to her forehead. 'I love you too!' responded Mia as Georgie added his own contribution in a squeaky voice. 'I love you three!'

As Mia chased her son into the house, Stella rolled her eyes as she looked at the rising Allie. 'Is everything okay?'

'It will be,' said Allie in a hard tone, her face softening as she faced Stella once again. 'Thank you so much.'

'Don't mention it.'

********************

Gaining the current address for Keith Ryan Bacchus from the front desk had been breeze and as she drove, the anger within her built. She'd tried to restrain herself in front of her daughter and neighbour, but now there was nothing stopping her.

Parking, she turned off the car. Reaching for her gun, she checked that it was loaded. Walking up the path to apartment block B, she threw the entry door open as she headed for the elevator. Reaching the fourth floor, she headed toward unit 6.

Pounding on the door, she shoves it open when it is opened a crack and that nightmare-causing voice enquired as to who it was. Slamming the door shut, she raised her gun and levelled it on the man standing in front of her with his arms raised.

'I'm warning you now – once and for all – stay away from her Bacchus,' said Allie in a deadly tone.

'Are you sure you want to do this?' reasoned Bacchus confidently.

'Are you sure you want to tempt me?' responded Allie as she lowered the gun to his nether regions. 'Because I am oh so very tempted.'

Bacchus was silent for a moment as Allie commenced talking again. 'I don't know how you got free. I don't know who you bribed, or who you slept with or which idiot it is that I now need to accuse of corruption, but ...'

Bacchus stopped her there. 'You live in a bloody police paid for house!' snorted the man. 'Don't you talk to me about corruption.'

'Hey,' shouted Allie. 'I did what I had to do for my daughter.'

'Our daughter,' responded Bacchus smarmily. '_Our _daughter.'

'She's not yours!' yelled Allie. 'You'll never have her. You'll never see her. You'll never get within one inch of her. You'll never...'

'Wanna bet?' said Bacchus, dropping his arms to cross them over his chest.

'You signed off on the form,' said Allie, the gun shaking in her grip. 'You gave up your paternity and any and all rights five years ago.'

'Oh but did I?' said Bacchus.

He could have been bluffing, but there was something in his tone and demeanour that told her that he could very much telling the truth. _Please don't let this be happening. _Horror filled her voice. 'No...'

'Oh yes,' responded Bacchus menacingly in a sugar sweet tone. 'Now how about _you_ get out of here before I call the cops on _you_? And we'll keep this little gun threatening business between us shall we?'

She ran.

********************

_Next Chapter:_ Was Bacchus telling the truth?


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.

Shutting Mia's bedroom door just after 8pm, Allie took a deep breath as she leaned against the wall. What she had done was incredibly stupid. If something had happened to her – if Bacchus had done anything – what would happen to Mia? She'd almost become like Simon!

Pushing off the wall, she headed down the hallway. She couldn't forget what Bacchus had told her though. She needed to find out for sure if this man had any legal claim to Mia.

Entering the lounge room, she goes fishing in her bag for her mobile. Finally acquiring the desired object, she's preparing to access her speed dial when the phone rings of its own volition. Momentarily stunned, it takes her a moment to realise that it was an incoming call and she presses the accept button as she answered. 'Hello?' _Why didn't she check caller id? _

'Hey Allie,' said the man on the other end.

'Nick...'

Something in her voice must have betrayed her as Nick was quick to ask. 'Everything okay?'

'Can you come over?' She hated begging.

'Um, sure,' said Nick. 'What's going on?'

Allie hung up the phone.

When Nick knocked on the front door quietly half an hour later, she was there in an instant. His greeting was a joke that quickly faded as he looked at her. 'Maybe I should just move in... Allie?'

'I have something I need to check.' She stops his questions before they even start, maintaining her distance. 'I _need_ to check something.' She was becoming hysterical. 'Could you please watch Mia?'

His nod was all she needed. Grabbing her bag, she ran out the door.

There was a sense of eeriness on her floor as she arrived at the station. It was after 9pm on a Friday night, and it looked like crime was quiet on the streets for once. She was almost alone as she headed over to where she knew she could find the Bacchus file. Flicking through it furiously, she pulls out the page that she is looking for.

Sagging against the chair, Allie releases a huge sigh of relief as she holds the paper up. It was there: Bacchus had signed a waiver of paternity.

Her initial elation soon fades as her gut tries to tell her something. Taking a closer look, she looked over every sentence, every word, every little thing on that piece of paper. Going by for a second look, she realised it's not what is there but rather what is missing.

In the bottom right hand corner there was a circle that was blank. She may not have much legal knowledge, but she knew that there was supposed to be something there. Scrutinising the paper once again, she saw no official stamp of any type.

'No.' This was not happening.

Throwing the file down onto the table near her, she furiously dialled the number of the man who had caused this problem in the place.

He answered with a yell. 'Yo. You've got Pete. Big Pete that is ladies.'

He was no doubt otherwise occupied at the moment, but she couldn't care less. 'Hollyoake. Allie Kingston here.'

She could sense the change in his voice immediately. 'Excuse me ladies. Kingston. What in gods name are you doing calling me at this hour?'

Ignoring his question she got straight to the point. 'I'm looking at the Bacchus file.'

'And...?' was the exasperated prompt.

'I'm looking at the paternity waiver in the Bacchus file,' she elaborated in a hard tone.

There was silence on the other end, before she heard a mutter that sounded suspiciously like 'Damnit'.

She wanted an explanation and unfortunately he gave her one: an admin worker at the time had cut corners, and so the paperwork hadn't been processed the way it should have been. The office hadn't picked up on it until Bacchus had come up for release.

She lost it. 'You mean to tell me that Bacchus has rights to my daughter?'

'Now steady on their lovey,' was the defensive response. 'We're working on remedying the problem. It should be sorted out soon.'

'Soon?' she yelled into the receiver.

'Yes soon!' was the heated response, before he trailed off. 'Now all we have to do is hope that Bacchus doesn't find out before we can fix it up.'

'You honestly don't have a clue do you?' said Allie incredulously. 'He knows already. The bastard _knows_.'

'What?' said Hollyoake and she heard muffled shouts and a thump on the other end of the phone.

'He knows about it,' she ground out. 'He knows where Mia goes to school. Bloody hell, he knows my phone number.'

Here was Peter Hollyoake at his arrogant and smarmy best: having found a problem, he headed straight for blame avoidance. 'We'll get you a restraining order.'

Allie snorted. 'They aren't worth the paper they're written on.'

'Allegra,' he warned in a silky tone. 'Leave it in our hands.'

Driving home, she felt like she was on autopilot. Pulling into the garage she turned off the car and sat there for a moment. She had no idea how she had just driven home and avoided a crash. She couldn't tell you if she'd run a red light. Her mind felt fuzzy.

It was nearing midnight when she stepped in her door. Looking around she saw and heard nothing. Stepping into the lounge room, she saw a sight that usually made her roll her eyes, but tonight it brought tears to her eyes: Nick lay on the couch with Mia sprawled over his chest. One hand held her in place, whilst the other was dangling uselessly off the edge. The television was on mute, images flickering on the screen.

Dropping down next to the couch, Allie let the tears that have been threatening to fall for the past three weeks, finally fall.

She brushed Mia's hair from her face as her daughter shifted and strengthens the grip on the shirt in her hand, snuggling into her temporary mattress, still sound asleep. 'I'm so sorry baby.'

She doesn't know how long she crouched there, but she stirred from her grief and guilt when Nick's hand touches her back. She wiped away her tears and sniffled as his hand ran up her back to rest of the nape of her neck. 'Allie?' he mumbled in a sleep heavy voice.

Ignoring the concerned man whose hand is now rests against her leg as she stood up, Allie reached for Mia. Grunting slightly, she lifts up the dead weight of her four year old into her arms. Mia's head now resting on her shoulder, arms loosely wrapped around her neck, Allie holds her daughter close as she shakes her head in Nick's direction.

She didn't return for another twenty minutes.

When she did so, Nick was sitting upright on the couch, one arm thrown over the back as the other pinched the space between his eyes. As she stood tightly on her side of the room, Nick rose from the couch, but didn't come any closer. 'What's going on?'

She owed him in explanation, and honestly, she needed to share this with someone. It was too great a burden to bear alone. 'The paperwork never went through.'

'What paperwork?' asked Nick in confusion.

'The paternity paperwork.'

'The paternity paperwork,' repeated Nick slowly before he came to a realisation. 'The paternity paperwork.' He takes a step forward but stops himself once again. 'You mean...?'

Allie nods her head, willing the tears to go away. 'Bacchus has rights.'

'Godamnit.'

'My thoughts exactly,' said Allie harshly as she fiercely rubbed at her red-rimmed puffy eyes.

Nick stepped closer and raised his hand to her shoulder as Allie made eye contact with him. 'Don't,' she begged as Nick's hand fell to his side. 'We're going to fight this.'

'We have to,' said Allie miserably as she sagged against the wall, her head hanging in defeat. 'He can't...'

The silence stretched over the space between them before Allie raised her head and looked at Nick once again. Nick was looking at her with an expression that indicated he wanted to say something to her, but wasn't sure how. As she made eye contact with him once again, he spoke.

'I think w- you should tell the team,' he proposed tentatively.

'I know.'

_Next Chapter:_ The team finds out.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.

*****************

Jen was the first to arrive.

Allie had always had respect for her fellow female work colleague, but that was about the extent of it. They were just a little too different for her to really call her a friend. Thankfully Matt and Emma were hot on her heels and so she only had to make small talk for about fifteen minutes.

Whereby Mia had hid behind her when she introduced Jen, the little girl quickly shed her shyness when the couple arrived. Matt followed Allie into the kitchen with the potato dish that Emma had cooked, whilst Mia had already found an instant friend in Matt's better half and was pulling Emma by the hand into the lounge room to show her something or other.

Allie was bending over and putting the potato dish into the oven when the next team member made their arrival known. Or rather, it was Mia's shout of 'Ow, my head!' that had her rising and turning. Nick stood in the doorway holding Mia upside down in his arms, her hair almost touching the ground, as his eyes flew to her face. 'Look what I found hanging around the door,' he declared shaking the laughing girl in his arms. 'She belong to you?'

Whatever response Allie might have said was prevented when Matt stepped into the kitchen around Nick. 'Mate, is there any beer left in the shop?' Matt puffed as he put the slab on the kitchen bench.

'Yeah yeah,' laughed Nick before he turned his attention to Mia. 'You ready to walk again sprout?'

Mia's response was drowned out in laughing screams as Nick threatened to drop her and she began to walk on her hands. 'Nick, try not to drop my kid will you?' called Allie. 'And Matt, if you could put the beers out the back, that would be great.'

When Simon and Duncan arrived ten minutes later, the door was opened by Nick holding a little girl fireman style over his shoulder with a plate of uncooked meat in hand. Duncan's first introduction to Mia Kingston was an upside down wave and a grin just like her mother's. Stepping into the house, they saw Jen and Emma transporting various bowls and the like from the kitchen to the backyard, Allie working madly in the kitchen and Matt heating up the barbeque.

Intentionally or not, the men soon found themselves standing around the barbeque cooking the meat, whilst the women were in the kitchen. Mia moved between both groups, any and all shyness now officially gone around the friendly people that her Mummy – and Nick – worked with. At one point, she'd been sent into the kitchen with a request for another set of tongs from Nick, but as she sidled up to her mother, the request that she had in mind was of a completely different nature. 'Mummy,' said Mia sombrely.

Allie turned away from the conversation and the bowl of salad that she was preparing to look down at her serious-faced daughter. 'Yeah sweetheart?'

'I think we should open the chips now Mummy,' continued Mia just as sombrely.

'You reckon?' said Allie, struggling to maintain the serious nature of the conversation.

'We wouldn't want them to go off,' reasoned Mia with a nod of her head.

'Mm, we wouldn't want that now would we?' responded Allie. 'What do you say that you go fetch the big bowl and I'll open up the bag. Hmm?'

Mia scrambled for the cupboard, her excitement barely contained as she punched the air with a quiet 'yes!' Emma, Jen and Allie managed to hold off on their laughter until Mia had left the kitchen with the bowl of chips in her arms, happily chomping away en route to the backyard once again.

'Quite the little sweet-talker isn't she?' laughed Emma as Allie snorted. 'That amongst other things!'

Working together, dinner was quickly on the table.

Allie's outdoor setting only seated four, and so it was a little cosy as seven adults and one four year old pulled up various chairs and huddled around the table. The meat was on a long tray in the middle with salads, breads and condiments surrounding it. There was an easy camaraderie as everyone loaded up their paper plates.

Allie held Mia's plate in her hand as she asked her daughter what she wanted. Mia was keen on a sausage in a bun but balked at the salad. With visitors over, she was hoping that this would be an opportunity for her to get out of eating those vegetables that she hated so much. 'I don't want any green things,' Mia complained.

'Well, that's fine,' responded Allie. 'But remember, if you don't eat any salad, they'll be no ice cream for dessert.'

'I don't like ice cream,' declared Mia as she pushed away her mother's hand that held a clampful of lettuce, tomato and carrot.

'Right,' said Allie slowly as she gave Mia her plate and placed the mound of salad onto her own.

The dinner conversation was light-hearted. The team knew that something was up, and apart from Nick no one knew exactly what it was exactly, but it went without saying that it would be talked about later. Instead, Mia found herself to be the centre of attention and was thrilled to find herself sitting between Nick and Emma as she dug into her hot dog.

As the table was cleared, and dessert dishes were brought out, Mia was beside herself with excitement. 'I'm going to have an ice cream with sprinkles, chocolate topping AND marshmallows,' cheered Mia from her position on Nick's lap. Nick was sipping his beer and talking with Duncan on the other side of him and so Matt floundered as to how to answer this declaration. 'Umm, that's nice. Are you sure you're having dessert?'

'Yep!' said Mia with a big nod, twisting in her seat. 'Yum yum yum!'

But Mia was in for a rude shock when she jumped off Nick's lap, sprinted around the table to pick up a plastic bowl and bounced on her two feet as she looked up to her mother, only to find her request for dessert denied. 'Why?'

'Remember what I said before?' said Allie as she scooped out ice cream for the rest of the team.

'But I want ice cream!' protested Mia.

'You didn't eat your greens, so no dessert,' said Allie firmly as she handed a bowl to Duncan with a smile.

'Everyone else is getting some, so why not me?' pressed Mia.

'Everyone else ate their dinner,' reasoned Allie as she handed another bowl to Jen.

'Simon didn't finish his,' said Mia stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest. It was at that exact moment that Allie handed Simon his dessert bowl and the man opened his mouth to apologise, but was cut off. 'We're not talking about Simon, we're talking about you,' said Allie.

'But...' protested Mia.

'No,' said Allie in a tone of finality.

In a last bid attempt to acquire the meal she so desired, Mia turned on the waterworks. 'Not going to work on me sweetheart,' said Allie in an even tone as she put the lid on the ice cream container.

Emma tried to intervene and offer Mia some of her dessert, but Allie was quick to put a stop to it. 'Mia needs to learn that there are consequences for her actions.'

Mia's tears then turned into a full blown tantrum as Allie stood from the table and walked into the house to put the ice cream into the freezer. When she returned, the team all looked at each other uncomfortably as Mia's continued tears and begs for dessert were ignored. The cries continued for another minute or two, but when Allie still refused to back down, Mia gave up and went inside.

She was back five minutes later carrying a colouring book, and everyone marvelled at the sudden change in the child who was now happily scribbling away at the table.

But the child they saw an hour later was a completely different one all over again. When Allie made a mention of bed time in five minutes, Mia looked up from where she was reading a book with Emma and asked 'why?' in a whiny voice. 'Because it's late and it's past your bed time.'

The overtired girl promptly burst into tears.

All attempts by various members of the team to amuse or console her were in vain – even Nick's picking her up resulted in Mia kicking and pushing herself out of his embrace. Finally, a sniffling Mia made her way over to her mother and scrambled up into her lap. As Mia positioned herself, Allie wrapped her arms around Mia, kissed the top of her head and rocked her. She stopped as she found that the conversation had suddenly gone quiet and the team was looking at her.

She blushed at the attention, but maintained her hold on Mia, and soon enough the conversation started up once again.

After Mia's eyes slipped close and flew open again determinedly for the fourth time that minute, Allie decided that it was bedtime. Feeling a little self-conscious, Allie stood up from her seat with her daughter in her arms. 'I'll just put her to bed and then I'll be back...' she trailed off awkwardly. How did one describe what she wanted to talk to them about?

'I'll manage the tea and coffee,' said Nick standing up from his seat, Emma not far behind him with her offer of assistance. She flashed Nick a grateful look before she jostled her daughter. 'Say good night sweetheart.'

The only response she received was a grunt as the cranky girl buried her head further into her mother's neck. A chorus of 'good nights' followed Allie as she stepped into the house, Nick and Emma close behind. Emma kept walking to the kitchen, but Nick took a quick moment to press a kiss to Mia's head with a whisper of 'good night sprout' as the little girl grumbled in response, before making his own way to the kitchen.

Having put Mia to bed with little objection, Allie headed toward the back of the house once again. Taking a deep breath, she took a moment to observe the team unnoticed. Emma sat on Matt's lap as they laughed at something Simon said whilst Duncan and Jen were discussing something that required much gesturing as Duncan repeatedly hit the table with his finger. Nick was standing with one foot propped up on a chair as he leaned forward and cupped his hot drink in his hand, watching Jen and Duncan argue.

She remained incognito for a few more seconds before Nick turned and caught her eyes. She held his gaze for a moment longer before Nick broke it as he reached down to the table and lifted another mug into the air, gesturing in her direction. She stepped out the doorway, her hands brushing against Nick's as she took her coffee and took a sip and nodded her head in thanks. Still standing, she realised that the conversation had died off once again and all the attention was on her. She smiled awkwardly. 'Mia asleep?' asked Matt conversationally.

'Yeah,' confirmed Allie. 'As long as there is something on, Mia will stay awake. But the night owl is finally asleep now.' She laughed nervously, took a deep breath and without much further ado just blurted out the reason for this impromptu, short-notice gathering.

There was silence as she shared her story of the failed undercover operation, her 'surprise' nine months later, all about Keith Ryan Bacchus, the release, and most importantly Bacchus' potential claim on Mia. The silence stretched a little longer when she stopped talking and her eyes found something interesting in the pavers.

Jen was the first to speak. 'So what happens now?'

'Well, at the moment it's a waiting game. I'll be fighting any claim that he has, but I just wanted you all to know,' she finished lamely.

The responses were overwhelming and overlapping. 'Anything you want us to do, let us know.' 'You're a good mother.' 'We'll do anything we can do help.' 'There's no way that he'll take your daughter away from you.' 'Don't worry, nothing will happen.'

She was ill-prepared for the fierce hug and promise that Emma gave her. 'If you ever need anything, let me know. Okay?'

Some time later, Allie stood at the kitchen sink not long after the team had left. Her hands were doing a good job of washing the dishes themselves as her mind was nowhere near it. Amazingly, she felt like a load had been lifted off her shoulders.

She startled as Nick reached for a plastic container off the dish rack next to her. 'That went pretty well didn't it?'

That it did.

_*****************_

_Next Chapter:_ Allie finds herself a little, ah, closer to Nick that morning than she expected.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.

* * *

Pushing through the irate crowd, Allie made her way over to the crime scene. Flashing her badge and slipping under the yellow tape, she failed to find any evidence of her workmates.

Moving to the top of the steep stairs that lead down to the underground train station, she spotted Matt and Nick standing in the middle. In the far off distance at the bottom of the stairs she could see Duncan and Simon speaking with a group of people.

'Sorry I'm late,' she called as she began her descent.

Both Matt and Nick raised their heads and looked up toward her. 'Watch your step,' said Nick, extending his arm. 'It's slippery.'

'Yeah I know, what happened to summer?' she called in response. 'Don't worry, I'm fine.'

She spoke too soon.

Close enough to wave off Nick's hand, she then promptly slipped. Her foot hit a wet patch on a step and with nothing to grab onto, she pitched forward. Thankfully her journey wasn't that far as Nick's arms flew out and caught her. His strong arms slipped around her waist and pulled her body back against his.

He refused to let go of her as he turned her, looking down as he raised an eyebrow. 'What was that again?'

She slapped at his chest as she pulled free, righting herself as she got her breath back once again. Matt smiled as he looked at them both. 'Lucky Nicky here caught you or else we'd have another body to look at.'

'Yeah, yeah,' said Allie brushing the comment off and taking another step down to look at the male in the suit and tie who was sprawled head first on the stairs before her. When Nick placed his hands on her hips from behind and steadied her, she turned and gave the grinning man a withering look. 'Just trying to help.'

'Just trying to help my ass,' responded Allie with a snort as she swatted his hands away and bent down for a closer look at the victim. 'What happened?'

'Not exactly sure yet,' explained Matt. 'But it looks like the man might have slipped and fell in the peak hour rush. Ronnie's on her way, so we should know soon.'

Simon and Duncan then made their way up the steps to join them. 'Did you find anything?' asked Nick.

'Spoke with the witnesses, no one can remember seeing anything,' said Duncan.

'That's peak hour for you,' said Allie as she pointed up the stairs. 'The crowd up there is furious that the trains have been stopped. Plus with the building and roadworks, it's going to be hell for the buses to get in.'

'I hate these cases,' moaned Simon. 'They're going to be a media nightmare.'

* * *

The following day was Allie's rostered day off, but she kept in touch with the team as they chased the case. There had been two more deaths at two more train stations during peak hour and the team was working overtime to find the culprit. She was standing in the kitchen scooping cake mixture into patty pans when the phone rang later that night.

Licking her fingers, Allie accepted the call and positioned the phone between her ear and shoulder as she recommenced spooning mixture into the patty pans. 'Hello?'

'Hey Allie, you're on speaker phone,' came a far away voice.

'Hey Nick,' said Allie as she finished one muffin tray and reached for another. 'How's it all going?'

'Hang on, wait til the team gathers around,' answered Nick. She could visualise him propped up against the meeting table as he called everyone over. 'How was Mia's sports day?'

She couldn't respond yet as there was a jumble of voices on the other end as no doubt the team settled themselves around the table. After a chorus of greetings, she finally got a word in edgewise. 'It takes a group call to enquire about my daughter's sports day?'

'Well, you're not that special,' said Nick blandly and she grinned as she heard Jen's reprimand seconds later. 'Nick!'

It clearly didn't have much impact on him. 'So?'

'It went well,' responded Allie. 'Mia won the running race and her team won the relay.'

'She got a medal?' said Matt. 'You must be so proud.'

Allie snorted. 'They don't do medals these days. It's all about encouraging participation and the all that blah blah. She got a badge that said 'I ran in a race'.'

'They're not doing medals anymore?' asked Duncan incredulously. 'What is the world coming to?'

'Could you imagine the Olympics?' laughed Simon.

'Yeah,' said Nick. 'Thank you all for running. You all did such a good job that we're going to give you all a medal each.'

There was laughter all around before they got down to business. 'What connections are there between the three victims?' asked Allie as she popped the two trays of muffins into the oven and leaned against the bench, her finger dipping into the mixing bowl to scoop up some of the left over mixture.

'They were all middle-aged businessmen,' said Jen. 'But apart from that I can't find any connection. They all worked in different places, lived in different suburbs and had had very different lives.'

'But why were they killed at a train station?' asked Matt. 'Why not do it somewhere else?'

'Easy to hide it I guess,' suggested Duncan. 'It's peak hour, so no one is going to remember anything.'

'Were the victims coming or going from the trains?' asked Allie.

'Ah, the first victim was heading out and the other two were heading down to their trains at their respective stations,' clarified Jen.

'You thinkin' where they were going to makes a difference?' prompted Nick.

'Possibly,' shrugged Allie. 'The first train station has links to several other lines, and the second and third victim were heading down to lines that connected with the first train station.'

'That's a point,' said Matt slowly before Simon picked up on his line of thought. 'Maybe the three businessmen were heading somewhere?'

'What about the new buildings near the station – the ones that were blocking all the traffic?' proposed Duncan.

The team talked a little longer before they scattered to do various things, and soon it was only Nick coming over the line. 'Can I speak with you?'

'What?' asked Allie in confusion as she put the semi-clean mixing bowl into the sink. 'You're already speaking with me.'

'In private,' was the short response.

'Ah sure.'

There is silence for a moment before Nick's voice comes over the line and she can hear that the speaker phone has been turned off. 'What's going on?' she asked.

Nick began to speak, but she didn't hear a word as she remembered that she had muffins in the oven. 'Shoot, hang on.'

She dropped the phone onto the bench and grabbed the handtowel near her as she wrenched the oven door open. Seeing no smoke and black marks decorating her muffins she breathed a sigh of relief. Putting the trays on the stove top, she turned off the oven and reached for the phone once again. 'False alarm. It's all good.'

'What on earth happened?' asked Nick, and she could detect a trace of concern in his tone.

'I'm making muffins,' explained Allie as she reached for her wire racks.

'Muffins?'

'Mm. When it's your kids' birthday, you've got to bring the cake to class.'

'Ah I see,' said Nick. 'Chocolate?'

'No, plain.'

'Eh.' Allie laughed at his less than enthusiastic response. 'What were you saying before?'

There was silence before Nick finally spoke again. 'Bacchus' hot shot lawyer was here looking for you today.'

* * *

_Next Chapter:_ It's just not her day is it?


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.

* * *

Later that week, Allie and Jen stepped onto the university campus to interview one of the students. Their latest case had seemed straightforward enough, but as they delved deeper, they discovered other unsolved cases of teenagers beaten to death with a similar MO.

The person they were heading over to meet had been one of the two victims to escape their killer and they were hoping that she would be able to shed some new light on the man who had abducted her four years ago.

Finding her was easy enough. The girl sat on the bench outside on old-style brick building, hands folded in her lap as her long blonde hair fell around her face and she stared at the ground. The young woman stood awkwardly as they approached her and clenched her backpack strap tightly.

'Kayceigh Vanstone?' asked Jen.

She nodded.

'Thank you for agreeing to meet with us.'

'That's fine,' was the soft voice in response. 'Do you mind if we walk and talk? I don't much like sitting down.'

'That's fine,' said Jen with a smile and the three females began to walk.

They stopped under a shady tree as Jen gently asked Kayceigh to retell her story of her abduction. Allie stood off to the side and made notes as Jen and Kayceigh spoke. Engrossed in the task, she was startled when a student suddenly came up to her and touched her arm. 'Um, excuse me. I'm not sure if you realise, but you have chewing gum on the back of your jacket.'

'Ah, thanks.'

Apologising to Jen and Kayceigh, she slipped off her jacket. Sure enough, there was a glob of sticky pink candy stuck to the middle of her jacket. It was in that state between freshness and setting and as she pressed and pulled at it, she knew that it would be futile to try and remove the chewing gum now.

Mildly irritated, she threw the jacket over the bench next to them, adjusted her white t-shirt and inserted herself into the conversation once again – an interview that was starting to come to an end.

It was brought to an even more abrupt end less than a minute later. Her mind vaguely registered the group of shirtless boys that laughed and screamed as they ran nearby, but she had another reason to give them a second look when she suddenly found herself splashed with water.

Her first reaction was to gasp, before she realised that the liquid had fully saturated her shirt - a shirt that was now sticking to her like a second skin.

'Wet t-shirt contest!' shouted a voice nearby and Allie turned fuming.

She took some satisfaction in seeing the boys' laughing fade off as they all pushed each other and their jokes became awkward. One hand pulling her shirt away from body, she used her other hand to pull her badge from her pocket and flash it, taking a step toward the troublemakers.

They scrambled.

She was offered some sympathy from Kayceigh who tried to explain the actions as 'boys will be boys', whist Jen offered a tissue or two from her pocket, but it turned to be a useless enterprise trying to dry her t-shirt.

She grinned and bore it as she thanked Kayceigh for her time, but her crankiness grew as she received several wolf-whistles on the trip back to the car.

She was not happy as they returned to the police station. She stepped off the elevator holding a chewing-gum littered jacket at a length, whilst her other hand uselessly tried to pull her shirt from her skin and she made a bee-line for the kitchen.

'What happened to her?' asked Simon as the four men looking up from their desks.

Jen tries to explain. 'A student threw water on her in the guise of a 'wet t-shirt contest'.'

'I thought this only happened in America,' grumbled Allie as she returned from the kitchen with paper towels and dabbed at her shirt.

'Trust me – _that_ is a universal sport,' laughed Nick leaning back in his chair as Matt and Duncan laughed but kept their distance. The temper of Allie Kingston was notorious.

'Muchly helpful that,' she said sarcastically rolling her eyes.

'And I'll be all the more helpful when I offer you a shirt to change into,' responded Nick, oblivious to her sarcasm. She gave him a look as she assessed what he was saying before she finally nodded her head. 'Ta.'

Nick's shirt was too big and so as she stepped into the meeting room she rolled up the light pink sleeves to her elbows. Jen was telling the team about what they had learned from Kayceigh Vanstone. 'The prick actually kept Kayceigh tied up in a basement,' added Allie.

'Perhaps we could refer to our suspects by a more appropriate name Detective Kingston,' said Bernice Waverley from a corner.

'Sorry ma'am,' said Allie as she took a seat. _Shoot, she hadn't seen her there. _

'And what is with the new attire?' continued Waverley with a raised eyebrow.

'I encountered a little, ah, trouble at the university,' explained Allie in the most polite tone that she could manage.

'I see,' said Waverley and Allie tried her best to not squirm under her gaze. 'Continue.'

She's been relegated to phone duties when Waverley broke the team up, Nick accompanying Jen to visit the parents of the newest victim whilst Duncan and Matt were interviewing a new witness that saw that girl abducted, Matt behind the mirror with Waverley.

And so she was alone when a well-dressed man stepped off the elevator and was directed to the Homicide space by a uniform. 'Detective Kingston?'

His timing was unfortunate as she had just finished an exceedingly difficult phone call with a recalcitrant business and was fiercely punching in the numbers to the next trucking business on her list.

'What?' she snapped in irritation at the man standing near her desk as she held the phone handset to her ear.

'Are you Allegra Kingston?' repeated the well dressed man.

'Who wants to know?' she asked warily.

'I'm Nigel Salter. I represent Mr Bacchus.' That halted her in her tracks and she hung up the call. 'What do you want?'

'My client wishes to apply for the custody of the child named Mia Whitney Drake Kingston,' said Mr Salter in a smooth tone.

'He wants to do what?' she asked in disbelief.

'My client is applying for custody,' repeated the lawyer, his tone nor demeanour changing one iota.

'He's never going to win a court case,' she responded in a confident tone.

'Au contraire,' said the lawyer. 'He has a very good case. You're a police officer that works long hours. My client is well established and in a much better position to provide the much needed stability a child needs.'

'A much better position?' scoffed Allie. 'He's just been released from prison.'

'And is so remorseful for his actions and looking to establish a relationship with the daughter he has never met before,' reasoned the lawyer.

'He's not going to win.'

'Perhaps,' was the unperturbed response. 'But first things first, we're seeking a court order to allow my client to meet his daughter.'

'Over my dead body,' gritted Allie as she swiped the proferred paperwork from his hand.

'I am aware that you have ambivalent feelings on this matter, and so I'll be sure to request that your corrupting influences in no way impact on the child meeting her father.'

She was wordless.

'I have a court date with the Magistrate on Monday,' concluded Mr Salter. 'We'll be in touch.'

She didn't know how she got through the rest of the day. They found their suspect, they saved the latest victim and she handed off the custody papers to the legal team Hollyoake had instructed her to.

She picked up her daughter and listened to her jabber excitedly about her day and what she wanted to do for her birthday that weekend. She found herself agreeing to the movies and a huge ice cream sundae for the two of them on Saturday afternoon. She fed, showered and put her daughter to bed.

She forgot that she wearing Nick's shirt until she stepped out of her own shower and saw it strewn on the floor. She dressed in her pyjamas and sat on the edge of her bed as she hit speed dial and told Nick that she would wash his shirt and return it to him soon. She brushed off his concern, hung up the phone and put her head to the pillow.

She woke up in the same position that she had gone to sleep in when the alarm went off. She rolled out of bed unseeingly and pulled on her work clothes. Heading down the hall she was still in a daze as she flicked the kettle on. She prepared to leave the room to wake up Mia, but when there was a knock at the door her feet changed direction.

Nick stood on the doorstep. 'When were you going to tell me?'

'Tell you what?' she questioned vaguely as she leant her head against the door and swung it open further.

'Hollyoake couldn't get through to you and so he contacted me.'

She sighed as she stood up and gestured him in. 'I was going to tell you when it became real.'

She puttered around the kitchen as she made lunch for Mia and herself, poured a cup of coffee and got breakfast ready. It's when she realises that she is pouring juice into the Special K that she stops, looking blindly into the bowl.

A tear runs down her face and she sees its journey end when it falls with a plop in the orange-juice flavoured cereal before her.

She can hear Nick moving behind her. She heard the mug being placed on the bench. She heard his feet shuffling as he stood up from the bench. She heard him take a step toward her. And still she gripped the cupboard, her knuckles turning white.

It was his one worded question that undid her. 'Al?'

She turned, took two steps and threw herself into his arms. Her arms went around his body and she burrowed her face into his chest. Her sudden movement had taken Nick by surprise as he took an involuntary step backward, but he recovered quickly and wrapped his arms around her.

She doesn't know how long she stood there tightly gripping him, but she knew that she'd never felt so safe before as she did in those arms at that moment. She'd always sworn that she could do everything herself, but in this moment of vulnerability, she was willing – needed – someone else to carry the burden for a while.

She hadn't realised that she was crying until she sniffled. Her nose felt blocked and her throat rubbed raw. She felt like she should say something, but she didn't want to break the moment. Nick said nothing as he continued to hold her close – one hand firmly planted on the small of her back and the other gripping her neck as he held her close – and for once, she was glad for silence.

They only separated when a sleepy Mia entered the kitchen, brushed her dark hair from her face and looked up at the hugging adults. 'What's wrong with Mummy?'

Allie was quick to step out of her moment of 'weakness' as she pulled back from Nick, wiped her eyes and plastered a smile on her face as she dropped down to Mia's level, pulling her in for a hug. 'It's all okay kiddo.'

_It's all okay. _

* * *

_Coming Up:_ You thought this was a good Nick/Allie moment? Wait til the next one!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.

* * *

'Well boys and girls,' declared Jarvis. 'We have until 9am tomorrow morning before the Drug Squad gets their hands on this piece of scum, so let's get to it.'

Allie's fingers tapped restlessly against the table as she listened to Jarvis' master plan for catching Jaymes 'Wally' Wollstonecraft in the act. It's 4pm on Monday afternoon and she'd been fidgety all day. Her tapping doesn't when Nick plucked a pen from her fingers to write something down.

'Kingston, you'll be doing surveillance on the street. Dress appropriately.' They continued to tap as she nodded her head at Jarvis' instructions.

'Buchanan and Freeman – make sure you keep your heads down. Wally knows what you two look like.' And they still tapped away when Nick handed her pen back to her wordlessly.

When Jarvis dismissed them, Allie was up from her chair instantly, itching to get started, if only to put her mind to something that didn't concern Bacchus.

When she steps out from the toilet in a short denim skirt, singlet, open vest and converse shoes a short while later, Nick was standing there. She saw his eyes run appraisingly over her figure and crossed her arms over her chest. 'What?'

His eyes finally reached her face once again. 'You look like you're sixteen.'

'Is that a compliment?' she asked as she walked by him. She stopped when he called her name again. She turned and faced Nick with a raised eyebrow. She didn't budge when Nick's hands grasped her shoulders. 'Are you sure you're right to do this?'

'Why wouldn't I be?' she responded defiantly.

'No one would blame you if you sat this one out,' reasoned Nick. 'You've got a lot on your plate.'

'I'm going to do my job,' said Allie stepping back from Nick. 'There is no way the bastard is going to stop me doing that,' she finished as she walked into the bullpen.

* * *

Allie stood with her back against the wall, hands thrust into her pockets as she chewed on her gum and looked around. Her hair fell over her face and she talked in a soft tone to Matt who was in the sound van with Jarvis a street over. 'Nothing yet.'

When they had released Jaymes 'Wally' Wollstonecraft from the station that afternoon, he'd gone home before heading to work like he did every night. The whole team was watching intently as Wally went about selling hot dogs to the variety of people that walked on by, but there had been no evidence of any drugs exchanging hands.

Nick and Duncan were in a car across the road from her and Jen and Simon were around the corner. Starting to get a little bored, Allie wished that her earpiece played music or the like. She looked around aimlessly as more and more people brought hot dogs, but unfortunately there was no shady business underway.

Her ears perked up when she heard Matt's voice. 'Si's seen something. We've got someone heading toward Wally's stand now.'

Changing her position she spotted a man in the sports coat making his way over to the hot dog stand. 'Gotcha.'

She watched Wally and this man conversing for a little while before suddenly the newest arrival looked around warily. His eyes fell on her and she quickly averted her eyes but stayed in position. There would be nothing more suss than if she made a move away now.

There was a heated discussion at the stand before she looked back and saw that both men were looking straight at her. She shifted out of sight and moved down the wall a little. 'I think I've been spotted,' she whispered to Matt.

'Hold your position,' ordered Jarvis.

Meanwhile in the car, Nick had a feeling that trouble is afoot. He didn't like the way that the man was looking over at Allie. When the man in the sports coat had one last heated exchange with Wally and turned away, Nick began unbuttoning the top buttons of his shirt.

'What are you doing?' asked Duncan with a small degree of interest, eyes on their suspect as Nick reached for his suit jacket.

'Something's up,' Nick responded as he opened his car door. 'I'm going over.'

'What? You heard...'

Nick heard nothing more of what Duncan had to say as he pulled his jacket on, shoved his hands into his pockets and made his way to the position where Allie was standing nonchalantly against the wall – the same position that the man in the sports coat was now making a beeline for.

Walking slowly enough so as not to arouse suspicions, but quickly enough to actually be making a move, Allie didn't see him until he planted his arms on the wall on either side of her. 'Hi honey.'

He didn't give her time to think or react as he leant down and pressed his lips to hers. What was supposed to be a diversionary tactic to keep any suspicious eyes off them soon became something more. After a moment of no reaction, Allie became an enthusiastic participant. Her arms came up and looped around Nick's neck as she pulled him toward her.

He deepened the kiss as his arms left the wall and wrapped around her back. Her body moulded into his as their tongues duelled. One of her hands slid into his hair as one of his hands slipped under her top and rested hotly against the small of her back.

Air was a forgotten and unnecessary commodity as they ignored all that was going on around them and the only thing on their minds were each other. It's only when the man in the sports coat began to yell at them that reality hit them once again. 'Oi, you two.'

They were both breathing heavily when they parted. Nick had his hands firmly in the back pockets of Allie's denim skirt and her arms were hidden from sight under Nick's jacket. 'What do you want?' snarled Nick. 'I'm kind of busy here.'

'What are you doing here?' asked the man suspiciously.

'What does it look like?' responded Nick in a sleazy tone. 'Need a step by step outline?' added Allie in a deceptively sweet tone.

The man eyed them for a moment as both Nick and Allie tensed. Nothing was apparent on their faces, but Nick chewed Allie's gum fiercely and Allie's hands dug into the back of Nick's shirt. There was silence before Allie opened her mouth again. 'You looking for something particular yourself tonight?'

'Honey, you're not my type,' scoffed the man.

'What is your type?' asked Allie conversationally. 'Cos I could be pretty much anything. Getting a little bored of this bland fellow here.'

'Hey,' objected Nick as they parted.

'Well you gotta agree that it's kind of sad if the best thing for our sex life is meeting up in dark deserted places only to head back to your place for a pretty mediocre performance.'

Nick's eyes flashed as he caught Allie's eyes. 'If you're looking for something to really rock the place, head down and see my friend Ted down there,' interjected the man.

'Why?' said Allie as she turned and leant back against Nick's chest as one of his arms casually draped itself over her chest. 'Can you hook us up with something?'

'Oh you bet,' said the man with an enthusiastic nod.

'How do we know you're not suss?' questioned Nick.

'Trust me,' said the man proudly. 'I delivered the product myself.'

'Really?' pushed Allie.

'Scouts honour.'

'You're under arrest,' said Allie and Nick at the same time as the man's face turned to horror.

* * *

Allie threw back her chair and sat down with a superior look on her face as Nick leant against the wall of the interview room, Demetrius 'Demi' Aniston scowling from his seat.

'Care to explain to us what you're doing moving 2kg of ice?' asked Allie.

Demi looked between the two detectives and deflected the question. 'It's not mine.'

'You were caught with it on your person and you admitted to supplying 'Ted' with it,' said Allie.

'It's entrapment – you police officers are just so desperate for a collar that you'll bag anyone,' protested Demi. 'And by the way, that was some pretty good action you put on. Had much practice?'

Watching the interview behind the glass, Jarvis turned to the door when Bernice Waverley walked in. 'Heard you caught your guy.'

'We got something,' confirmed Jarvis. 'Hopefully this guy will crack and lead us to the big dog.'

'Hmm,' said Waverley, stepping closer with her arms folded across her chest.

'Kingston did well,' added Jarvis.

'She did?' asked Waverley and there was the smallest degree of surprise present.

'Mm,' said Jarvis, still intent on watching the interview before him play out. 'Buchanan stepped up to the mark too. They're a good team.'

It was all over pretty quickly. Faced with jail time if he didn't blab, Demetrius Aniston cracked easily, spilling the beans on the murder of Jakob Moens – a man who knew too much and couldn't keep his bloody mouth shut.

Allie was buoyed by a successful case closed as she and Nick stepped into the bull pen not long after.

'Hey Nick,' called Simon. 'Heard you're lacking in the bedroom department!'

Nick scrunched up a piece of paper and threw it at Simon as he turned to Allie. 'Next time I'm going all out on you.'

'Wanna bet?' taunted Allie with a smirk as she headed over to her desk.

'What are you offering?' responded Nick, crossing his arms over his chest and facing her defiantly.

'Another mediocre performance in bed?' suggested Duncan as the team erupted in laughter and Nick's arms fell to his side. 'Ha ha,' he said drily. 'Getting a little old now.'

As everyone hurried to finish up the last remnants of paperwork ready for the Drug Squad the following morning, Nick and Allie's eyes met across the room and their gaze held for just that second longer before they turned away.

* * *

_Next chapter:_ Did Bacchus get the court order to see Mia or not?


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.

* * *

Two days later, Nick was raising his cup of coffee to his lips when Allie stormed into the small staff room. The cup never reached his lips as the furious young woman snatched it from his grasp. 'I need caffeine,' she muttered as a manner of explanation before she took a big gulp.

Swallowing, she held the mug at a distance as she looked at it in distaste. 'Far too much sugar as usual.'

'No one offered it to you,' was Nick's retort as he took it back and took a sip. Allie ignored him as she threw open the cupboard and then shut it loudly after retrieving a mug. Allie reached for the kettle as Matt popped his head in. 'Ready?'

Allie jumped at the sudden arrival and almost spilled hot water on herself. Fearing what would come out of her mouth next, Nick went into damage control as he nodded his head and took a step forward to Matt. 'Be there in a second.'

Matt left the room and Nick turned to where Allie was stirring her coffee ferociously and muttering under her breath. 'Where did Judge Edgar Nighy get his bloody law degree from? A cereal box?'

Nick knew what it was then. 'He got it?'

'You bet your bloody backside that he got it,' she gritted as she stormed out of the room.

* * *

Nick pulled up next to the petrol bowser, put the car in park, put all the windows down halfway and pulled the lever to push the petrol door open.

Stepping out of his car, he reached for unleaded option and proceeded to fill up. As he did so, Mia unstrapped herself and climbed into the front seat. As the litre dial spun over, he had a side view watching the little girl grip the wheel, turning it both ways in her eagerness.

Tank full, Nick replaced the head, locked the petrol cap, and leaned in the open drivers window. 'You comin' in?'

The dark haired girl turned to look at him and shook her head. 'I want to drive!' she declared, punctuating her decision with another sharp turn of his poor steering wheel.

'Okay,' said Nick in a warning tone. 'Stay in the car and what do you do if you see someone?'

'Punch 'em and scream bloody murder,' responded Mia succinctly with a sure nod of her head.

Expecting an altogether different answer, Nick was momentarily speechless. 'Where did you hear that?'

He could see the different expressions running across Mia's face as she stopped driving for a second and thought about her answer. 'Ah, somewhere?'

The impatient toot from the car waiting behind him put the discussion on Mia's acquisition of this turn of phrase off to a later date as he tapped the window. 'Stay put.'

He was back two minutes later. Crossing to the car, he grinned at Mia's driving like a mad man, face intent and the wheel turning fiercely. Opening the driver's door, he ordered Mia over. 'Scooch over sprout.'

Mia climbed over the console and into the back as Nick started the car. 'It's stuck!' called Mia and Nick turned his head to see that the girl was having trouble getting the carseat straps locked into the buckle. The impatient man behind him tooted again and so Nick made his decision.

Turning back to the front, he pulled out of the petrol sector and parked near the Air and Water. Stopping the car once again, he stepped out and made his way around to the other side to fix up Mia's seatbelt.

Task complete, he withdrew a peach-flavoured lollipop from his pocket. 'Look what I found!'

Mia's face went from thrilled to despondent in seconds. 'I don't like that one.'

'I know,' said Nick as he pulled another lollipop from his pocket with a flourish. 'That's why I got you this one.'

The response to his unveiling of the creamy strawberry and vanilla lollipop was a scowl on Mia's face – an expression he had seen on her mother's face several times over. It didn't stop her from snatching the lollipop from his teasing grasp though.

Unwrapping his own, Nick shoved it into his mouth as he rose. Propped up between the roof and the door, he dropped his head. 'Need help?' he mumbled around the lollipop.

'No,' said Mia shortly, her brow furrowed in concentration as her fingers got to work trying to unwrap the plastic covering.

'Right-io,' said Nick before he checked the straps one last time and then got into the drivers seat again.

The trip home was inevitably interrupted minutes later by Mia's frustrated cry. 'I can't open it!'

Eyes on the road, lollipop in his mouth, Nick reached his hand backward as he took Mia's still wrapped lollipop. Removing his own from his mouth, momentarily steering with his knees, he ripped the wrapper off Mia's lollipop and handed it back to her.

She was back to her usual sunny self in seconds. 'Thanks Nicky!' Mia crowed before she began to sing her school welcoming song over and over again, punctuated with frequent pauses for lollipop sucks.

* * *

When Allie arrived at Nick's place later that night, he opened the door and took in her weary form. 'That good hey?' he asked as Allie stepped by him. 'Even better,' she said darkly. 'The lawyers say that there is nothing I can do about it. Bacchus gets to meet Mia.'

'They can't object or anything?' said Nick incredulously as he shut the front door.

'Apparently there's no point,' said Allie. 'Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to grab Mia and head home. I just want to sleep this whole nightmare away. Where is she?'

'She's asleep in my bed.' He stopped her from going anywhere when he reached for her arm. 'Allie, let her sleep a little longer. You haven't eaten all day and it's probably not a good idea for you to drive home right now.'

She considered objecting, but shrugged her shoulders and headed to his kitchen. When Nick pulled out leftovers from the fridge, she looked at the pork and vegetables incredulously. 'You got Mia to eat this?'

Nick snorted. 'I didn't even try. Miss Kingston had a meal from one of Australia's finest restaurants,' explained Nick as he put the plate into the microwave.

'You brought her a Happy Meal, didn't you?' probed Allie and Nick was greeted with the first smile he'd gotten from her all day when he nodded his head.

'You spoil that kid,' muttered Allie under her breath as she accepted the glass of wine that he offered.

Nick didn't bother answering.

* * *

After a less than subtle attempt to turn the conversation that way, Nick finally asked Allie outright what had happened at the lawyers' office that afternoon.

Allie pushed her plate away, leaned back in her seat and grasped the wine glass between two fingers as she began to speak. 'I got served with the order this morning. I was too bloody furious at the time to read it properly – all I saw was that Bacchus had been granted a meeting with Mia – and it wasn't until I got to Bastille & McBride that they told me that not only does Bacchus have a court order to see Mia, it's an order that the meeting be supervised.'

'Well a supervised meeting sounds like a good thing right?' ventured Nick cautiously.

'It's a supervised meeting that I'm not allowed to attend,' spat out Allie in response.

'What?' asked Nick in confusion.

'Precisely what I said,' Allie responded. 'Apparently my presence there would be detrimental to Mia building a relationship with her father. A relationship for God's sake Nick.'

Nick doesn't know what to say. Well, what could he say? His lack of words don't matter as Allie continues to speak.

'The bastard gets out of prison, finds some hoighty toighty lawyer, goes to court and gets an order that lets him see his daughter that he was never supposed to know about,' she continued angrily. 'Where is the fairness in all that? Hmm?

There's a pause before she speaks again in a more subdued tone. 'I just don't want her to know.'

'She's going to find out sooner or later,' said Nick carefully. Allie raised her head and flashed her eyes at him, but he pressed on. 'Wouldn't you rather it were under supervision?'

'I know that she's going to find out sooner or later,' said Allie as she stood up from her chair and began to pace. 'But I didn't think that she'd be going at it alone. Apparently I don't satisfy the requirements for a 'responsible adult in the eyes of the court',' she snorted with derision.

'I'll take her,' offered Nick in a steady tone.

Allie stopped moving and was momentarily stunned as she turned and looked at him. 'What?'

'What?' he repeated, a little embarrassed by the intense gaze upon him. 'You can't, you don't want her alone, and I'm offering my services.'

'I couldn't ask you to do that,' said Allie as she bit her bottom lip.

Nick stood up and took the two paces that would bring him within inches of Allie. Raising his thumb, he brushed her bruised bottom lip as he answered. 'You didn't ask,' he said simply. 'I offered.'

There were no words in that moment as Allie and Nick's gaze held, his hand still holding her chin.

The moment was broken when Allie stepped back and turned. Picking up her almost empty dinner plate, she walked around the kitchen bench and started to wash up. Nick joined her and reached for the tea towel.

After a moment of awkwardness, Nick began to speak. 'You could have warned me you know?'

She looked at him in confusion. 'What?'

'45 year old lady. Make up applied with a shovel. Clearly no men in her life,' prompted Nick in a teasing tone.

Allie's face showed recognisance. 'Gianne Schaffer.'

'Ah, so that's the lady's name,' said Nick. 'The introduction I got was a little different.'

Allie snorted. 'That woman drives me nuts. Just because I'm a young parent, doesn't mean that I don't know what I'm doing.' She scowled as she placed the knife and fork into the cutlery holder with a little more force than necessary as Nick struggled to hide his amusement. 'She criticises absolutely _everything _I do, own or seem to bloody have. Apparently everything I do needs improvement.' She groaned as she paused a moment and turned to Nick. 'Sorry if she sunk her claws into you. Looks like you're the latest in a long line.'

Nick didn't care about the apology. 'You trying to say I'm yours?' he questioned.

Allie flushed, but her response was back bitingly fast nevertheless. 'No, I'm trying to say you need improvement.'

Nick swatted her with his tea towel.

* * *

The tension was broken, but after Nick carried Mia out and strapped her into Allie's car not long after, he shut the door and turned to her with a serious look on his face.

Allie fiddled with her keys as she looked at anywhere that wasn't Nick. She mused that the air hadn't been this heavy before.

Finally find the courage to look at him, she was startled to find him right there in front of her. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out as Nick's lips covered hers.

It was over all too soon. 'Good night,' said Nick warmly as he squeezed her shoulder.

'Good night...' she whispered.

* * *

_Coming Up:_ Mia prepares to meet her biological father for the first time.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.

* * *

Allie took a deep breath as she leaned against the back door and watched Mia chase after Stella's dog Frodo. She looked so carefree as she jumped left and right, teasing the energetic scottish terrier.

It was now or never.

The supervised meeting had been organised for this time next week. The weekend was going to swing back around far too quickly for her liking and she needed to prepare Mia for what was going to happen. As much as she hated the man, her five year old did not need to bear her pain and loathing and so she was going to do this right by her daughter.

Stepping out onto the small deck, she raised her hand and smiled as her daughter grinned and waved at her. Chickening out for a few more moments, she took a seat on the steps and watched Mia chase Frodo for a little while longer.

She had no way of avoiding the conversation anymore when Mia came running over to her soon after. Mia bounced on her toes and looked at Allie. 'Can we take Frodo to the park later?' she said excitedly. 'Pleeeeeeeeease?'

Allie couldn't help the smile that escaped when Mia actually got down on her knees and began to beg and Frodo flopped down beside her panting heavily and also turned his puppy dog eyes to her.

'We'll go for a walk later,' promised Allie and Mia jumped up and punched the air. 'But I need to talk to you about something first. Hmm?'

Mia nodded her head, picked up the tennis ball and threw it over near the fence, and as Frodo chased after it madly, she sat down next to Allie on the steps. Frodo was ignored when he returned with the ball, and after a few seconds of whining, he gave up and went to flop underneath a shady tree.

The two peas in a pod sat on the stairs in similar poses: knees bent and arms balanced on the knees - Kingston Senior with a sombre expression and Kingston Junior with a carefree expression.

'You know how it's always been just us two?' started Allie.

Mia nodded her head. 'Yep. Mummy and Mia rule the world!'

'That we do,' laughed Allie. 'But what would you say if you had a Daddy?'

Mia looked deep in thought for a moment. 'But what would I need a Daddy for?' she finally asked.

Thinking about how best to approach this minefield, Allie decided that honesty was the best approach. 'Well, normally a Daddy will help a Mummy look after kids and love them and help them and stuff.'

Mia thought about her explanation for a minute. 'So a Daddy would help dress me, put me to bed and take me to school and play with me and do lots of cool stuff with me?'

Allie nodded her head slowly. 'Yes, a Daddy would normally do those kinds of things.'

There was a moment of silence before Mia turned in her seat and put both hands on her mother's arm. 'You said I'm getting a Daddy,' said the little girl excitedly as she shook Allie's arm. 'Does that mean Nick's going to be my Daddy?'

_How in God's name did the conversation end up here?_

'How do you figure that?' said Allie slightly flustered.

'Well he picked me up from school on Wednesday and he likes to play with me, and he's really cool and sometimes we fall asleep together.' Mia looked at her mother as if her reasoning was clear. 'So he has to be my Daddy right?'

'Nick's not your Daddy sweetheart,' said Allie gently. 'He's.... umm....'

'Why not?' interrupted Mia obstinately.

Allie struggled to think of an answer and then decided to just ignore it, deflecting. 'Your real Daddy is a man that Mummy met a long time ago. He's been away for a long time and now he's just come back.'

'Where has he been?' asked Mia in a curious tone.

'I don't know exactly where,' responded Allie carefully. 'But it was a really long way away.'

'Oh okay,' said Mia accepting the answer.

'And now because he's back, he wants to meet you,' said Allie quickly, praying that her voice didn't carry her anger and fear over to her daughter.

'My Daddy wants to meet me?' asked Mia in an uncertain tone.

'Yes.'

'Cool, I've got a Daddy,' said Mia taking it all in her stride. 'When do I get to meet him?'

'You'll get to meet him next weekend,' said Allie.

'Where will we meet him?' pressed Mia. 'Do I get to go to his house?'

Allie inwardly shuddered at the thought. 'No, you'll meet him in a park.'

'Oh okay.' Another thought came to Mia. 'You're going to be there right?'

_Damnit it to the high heavens. _'I won't be there Mia. I'm sorry.'

'Why not?' said Mia in distress. 'I don't want to go by myself.'

Allie was quick to reassure her as she pulled Mia into her lap. 'You won't have to go by yourself,' promised Allie as she tucked Mia under her chin and ran her fingers through her hair. 'Nick will take you.'

Mia raised her head off her mother's chest and looked at Allie seriously. 'And he'll stay right?' asked Mia worriedly. 'The _whole _time.'

'The _whole _time,' promised Allie. 'He'll pick you up from here, take you to the park, and then bring you back and you can tell me all about your meeting.'

Mia thought about it for a moment before she nodded. 'Okay!' She burrowed back into her mother's chest – perhaps sensing that Allie wanted to keep her close – as Allie began to speak once again. 'There will also be another person there.'

'Another person?' asked Mia. 'Are they new family too?'

'No, they'll be there to make sure that the meeting goes really well.'

'Oh okay.'

After a few moments of silence, Allie loosened her arms from the hug and gently pulled Mia from her chest. She gripped Mia's shoulders as she looked her in the eye and got her full attention. 'I want you to listen to me really carefully okay?'

Mia nodded her head, her eyes wide open.

'When you meet with your Daddy' – it was hard to say that word without expressing some distaste at the man the label had unfortunately been allocated to – 'if you ever feel uncomfortable or scared or anything, you can tell Nick okay?'

'Okay,' said Mia.

'Promise me you'll tell Nick,' pushed Allie.

'I promise I'll tell Nicky Mummy,' said Mia. 'You're squeezing my shoulders too hard.'

'Sorry baby,' apologised Allie quickly as she let go.

Allie marvelled – not for the first time – at the resilience of children as Mia climbed out of her lap and stood between her legs on the next step below. Her daughter looked at her inquisitively. 'What are you thinking of babe?' asked Allie as she placed her hands on her hips.

'Does that mean he's going to come and live with us now?'

She couldn't control her response. 'No!' she shouted as Mia looked at her startled. 'No,' she repeated in a quieter tone. 'He will _not _be living with us.'

'But where is he going to live then?' Allie opened her mouth to answer, but Mia pushed on. 'Because Ava's parents don't live together anymore and she has to go visit him in Brisbane in the holidays. Does that mean I have to go to Brisbane?' asked Mia.

'No sweetheart,' said Allie as she laughed and pulled her daughter in close for a hug. 'You won't have to go to Brisbane.'

'Good,' said Mia, as she pulled back and rested her hands on her mother's shoulders. 'I don't think I'd like Brisbane much Mummy.'

Allie had tears pooling in her eyes as she kissed her daughter's nose, laughing as Mia scrunched it up in response. 'Can I go and play now?'

'Sure,' said Allie as she let her little girl go. 'I love you,' she called as Mia ran for the tennis ball again.

'Love you more,' shouted Mia back at her.

* * *

_Next Chapter:_ Mia meets her father.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.

* * *

Mia was a painfully shy person when initially meeting new people, quickly warmed up to people if she liked them and was outgoing in the presence of people she knew. But in the face of strangers and those she didn't like, she hid.

As Mia walked across the park the following Saturday, she held onto Nick's hand fiercely. There in the distance stood two people. One was a man with blonde hair and a smiley face. He was dressed in jeans and a buttoned short-sleeved shirt. The other was a woman in a knee-length skirt and a sleeveless top. She held a clipboard in her hand and was laughing at something the man said.

As Mia and Nick got closer, the two people turned to look at them. The woman stretched out her hand in greeting. 'Nick Buchanan? I'm Artie St John.'

In order to shake the woman's hand, Nick had to let go of Mia's. Her safety haven momentarily removed from her, she fiercely wrapped both of her arms around Nick's legs instead.

She didn't let go as Artie introduced Nick to Bacchus. She didn't let go as the two men exchanged glances, but neither offered a hand to shake. She didn't let go as Artie stepped back with a 'pretend I'm not here'.

She didn't let go when the blonde haired man knelt down to Mia's level and opened up his arms with a loving smile. 'Hey sweetheart,' he said in a confident tone. 'Come to Daddy.'

'Nicky?' asked Mia warily, looking up with a question in her eyes as her arms maintained their grip on Nick's legs.

Seeing his nod in response, she eyed the strange man in front of her. She raised one hand and waved wordlessly, the other hand remaining firmly around Nick's leg. A closer look would have seen a flash of anger sweep across Bacchus' face swiftly as he drew his arms back to himself. Mia saw nothing.

Bacchus rocked back on his heels as he reached behind him and pulled a plastic bag forward. From this bag he pulled out a brightly wrapped box. He brought the present to the front of himself and held it in his arms, still kneeling down. 'I hear that someone had a birthday recently,' he said pleasantly as he looked at Mia.

Mia nodded her head wordlessly, still gripping Nick's leg.

'How old did you turn?' continued Bacchus smoothly. 'Two?'

Mia shook her head vehemently and spoke her first words. 'I'm five,' she declared crossly.

'Five?' said Bacchus in fake surprise. 'You're a big girl now.'

Mia nodded her head fiercely, but did not budge.

'I've got a present for the birthday girl,' coaxed Bacchus as he held the present out. He took a knee-bent step forward and Mia tensed, looking up at Nick warily.

Seeing Nick's nod, she let go of him, took a step forward and accepted the box. Holding it in her hands, she turned it over and around, looking it over carefully. She startled when Bacchus' voice sounded. 'Well open it up will you?'

She looked at the man that was her Daddy as his face smoothed over once again and he smiled at his daughter. 'Open it,' Bacchus said again sweetly.

Mia opened it daintily, taking her time as she peeled back each corner, peeling back the paper until the paper fell away and her present was unwrapped.

It was a Barbie doll.

She held it in both hands, and looked up at Nick when he spoke softly. 'What do you say?' he prompted gently, in a tone so different to the blonde haired man still kneeling.

'Thank you,' said Mia obediently as she faced the blonde haired man once again, unsure of what to do.

'Do you like it?' pressed Bacchus sharply. Mia reacted by taking a step back, pressing her small body against Nick's legs. Nevertheless, she responded. 'Yes.'

'I bet this doll beats the ones that you have at home eh?' said Bacchus cockily, his intent clear.

'I don't have many dolls at home,' said Mia honestly. 'Can you open it please?'

Mia had automatically turned to hand the box up to Nick and Nick's hands had automatically responded to her request as he reached out for the box. His hands never made it as Bacchus stood up and snatched the box from Mia's hands. 'How about you let Daddy do it?'

Mia stood by silently as Bacchus attempted to pull the various bits of cardboard and twining away. He became frustrated and tore at the packaging when the doll failed to come off its cardboard backing.

As her father grunted and pulled harshly at the toy, Mia pushed back further against Nick's legs, her arms resting on his kneecaps. Nick's hands rested his hands on her shoulders, squeezing them briefly. He dropped his hands the instant that the Barbie doll was free, not wanting to cause any more trouble.

Mia thanked her father for the doll when he handed it to her and swung it aimlessly from her fingers as she looked up at the blonde haired man. The man that was her Daddy looked back down at her, also clearly at a loss at what to do.

Tearing his eyes away from the dark eyes of his offspring, Bacchus looked around the park, looking for inspiration. 'How about Daddy takes you onto the swings hey?'

'I'm scared of heights,' responded Mia. 'I don't like swings.'

Nick flashed her a look. He'd seen several instances that would contradict that statement, but if Mia wasn't comfortable with Bacchus on the swings, far be it for him to point that out.

Bacchus sneered at Mia's fear. 'Pfft, heights? A few pushes from me and we'll have that cured in an instant.' Mia was almost standing between Nick's legs by now.

Seeing Artie St John writing something in her notebook, Bacchus swiftly changed tactic. 'We won't go on the swings then will we?' he said in a sickly sweet tone. 'What would you like to do then?'

Mia looked around at her options. 'I want to play in the sand,' she declared decisively.

'Well let's do that shall we?' said Bacchus, extending a hand. Mia tentatively reached out her hand as Bacchus turned to Nick. 'You stay here. I think Mia needs some Daddy-daughter bonding time.'

Mia reached out her other hand to Nick immediately. 'Nicky comes too!' she said distressed.

As his daughter stood with one hand firmly gripped in each man's hand, Bacchus looked to Artie St John in exasperation, looking for some help on this. The court-appointed official shrugged her shoulders. 'The child needs to feel comfortable.'

It was a strange sight to see, two grown men seated in the sand pit with a little girl seated between them.

Mia sat close to Nick, her back resting against his chest as she began to pile up sand into mound. Bacchus was satisfied though, as his daughter faced _him_ and _he_ was building a sand castle with her. He even managed to get a laugh out of the child when he made a soldier out of his fingers and marched them up the hill and rolled them back down with sound effects.

As the mound began to resemble something that could look like a castle, the Barbie doll took her place of honour as Mia firmly planted her on the top and declared that Barbie was 'King of the Sand Hill'.

The frolic ended when Artie St John came over. She pointed at her watch as she nodded apologetically. 'I'm sorry. Time's up.'

'No chance of extending the meeting time and taking my little lady out for an icecream?' asked Bacchus in a smooth tone, one that no doubt had most ladies tripping over themselves to do his bidding. Not so the case for Artie St John. The redhead shook her head, even as she maintained her winning smile, as she said firmly. 'I'm afraid that isn't going to be possible Mr Bacchus.'

Both men stepped out of the sand pit and Artie turned to Nick. 'Mr Buchanan, you may leave.' Mia stood up and shook all the sand off her shirt and pants. Stepping out of the sand box, she tripped on the wooden edge and pitched forward. It all happened so quickly that neither Artie nor Bacchus had time to react as Nick's arms flew out and he swung Mia up into his arms.

The five year old laughed and brushed her hair from her face as Artie faced the girl warmly. 'It's been a pleasure to meet you Mia.'

'Nice to meet you too,' piped up Mia in response.

As Nick tossed a laughing Mia over his shoulder and walked toward the carpark, they left behind two very different people. Artie took in the scene briefly before she turned back to her paperwork. The look on Bacchus' face couldn't be more different.

It was hate radiating from every pore of Bacchus' being as he plastered a fake smile on his face, farewelled Artie St John and then made a move for his own car. His Saab sat several cars over from the where his daughter and that man were walking to.

Opening the door, he started the car and pulled out of his spot. He left the carpark, but was back seconds later when he re-entered and parked further away – out of sight, but still close enough to see his daughter.

Turning off his car, he saw his daughter seated on the bonnet of that man's car, chattering away at a mile a minute as that man fiddled with his daughter's shoes.

If he could have heard the conversation, he would have been angered further. As Nick slipped off Mia's sandals and shook them up and down to be rid of sand, Mia commented that it was nice to have a Daddy, but she wasn't sure if she really liked that man. 'There's something funny about him.'

Thankfully Bacchus couldn't hear the conversation, but his face darkened nevertheless when his daughter and that man failed to get into the car. Instead, Mia slid off the bonnet and made a dash for the swings.

His Barbie was thrust into the back pocket of that man's jeans as that man then proceeded to push _his _daughter higher and higher.

'More! More!' called his daughter.

There was no fear of heights.

* * *

_Next Chapter:_ And then all goes black...


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.

**Warning: **Violence.

* * *

It was pitch black when Allie woke up.

She looked around. She heard nothing and saw nothing, but her gut feeling was telling her that something was wrong. Very wrong.

Flinging back her sheet, she put her feet on the floor.

Her first thought was for her daughter. She wouldn't put it past Bacchus or his 'friends' to try something, especially after the meeting at the park today.

Quickly standing up, she left her room.

Mia's room was right next to hers. Stepping inside, she found her daughter sprawled in and over her sheets on the bed, spread eagled as usual.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

The sensation that something was very wrong did not leave her though. She was unravelling Mia's various limbs from her green sheets when she heard the noise.

She stopped moving.

One hand on Mia's bed, her other hand automatically went for her hip. Her hand grasped uselessly at the material of her singlet, seeking the gun that wasn't there.

She turned to the door.

Part of her was almost expecting someone to jump out of the wardrobe or come running through the door waving a machete around like a mad man.

Glass shattered.

Shaking herself out of her imagination-induced momentary paralysis, Allie snapped into action. Shaking Mia, she whispered urgently for her daughter to wake up.

Mia slept on.

Cursing that her daughter had received her pre-motherhood genes of deep sleep, Allie threw back the sheets and pulled her daughter toward her.

Mia flopped in her lap.

She needed to get back to her bedroom where her off duty gun was locked away, but there was no way in hell that she was leaving Mia here alone – especially if her daughter was what the intruders had come for.

They were not going to succeed.

Knowing that Mia would be a cranky baby, but needing to desperately wake her up, Allie slipped her fingers under Mia's armpits and tickled.

Mia began to shift.

Desperation settled in as Mia shifted some more, but failed to wake. She was about to give up, when suddenly Mia grunted and awoke, a cross look on her face.

'Ssh.'

Allie pressed her finger to her daughter's lips as Mia's eyes focussed on hers in confusion. 'Mummy?' she whispered, understanding the need to be quiet.

There was little time to explain.

'I need you to listen to Mummy very carefully,' said Allie. 'Some bad people have broken into the house and we need to very quietly creep into Mummy's bedroom okay?'

Mia nodded, her eyes opening wide.

Content that her daughter understood enough, Allie slipped Mia to the ground and stood up. It suddenly occurred to her that she hadn't heard any more noises since.

Hopefully, surprise was on their side.

She crept to Mia's door, tentatively sticking her head out into the dark hallway, searching for any sign of the intruder. Mia gripped her mother's right hand with both of her own.

She saw nothing.

Stepping out into the hall, Allie led Mia behind her as she took the first step. Her bedroom was only four more steps away. If she could get there, she had access to her gun and a phone.

She never made it.

As she took her next step, a short person stepped out of the shadows. There were no words spoken as the intruder raised their arm and light flashed across metal.

She saw the knife.

Pushing Mia behind her even more, Allie's free arm flailed around frantically, looking for anything that she could use as a weapon. 'What do you want?!'

She never saw him coming.

A tall person suddenly stepped out of the shadows to her left and she had no time to think or react when he raised the baseball bat and smashed it down on her shoulder.

She fell to the floor.

Grunting in pain, she tried to raise her head. She gasped as the world tipped. Her vision was blurry as she struggled to look up and identify her attackers.

'Mummy!'

Her hearing was fine though. She realised that in her fall, she had never let go of her daughter. Mia too was now on the floor, her arms wrapped around her chest, her legs tangled within hers in a death grip.

She gripped hard.

When she felt someone pulling at her daughter, Allie tightened her grip and tried to raise her arm and ward off the person. She ignored the pain that Mia's resulting grip had upon her.

She was not going to let go.

Through the haze, she could see the short person bending over. Ignoring the pain in her shoulder, she heaved up and rolled. She didn't roll very far, but now at least she was between Mia and the intruder.

She was exhausted.

She tried to fight the blackness. She really did. She can sense the tall person coming nearer. Unable to get up, she found what energy she could, raised her leg, prayed and kicked.

She hit her target.

The tall person – clearly a man – let out a huge breath as he dropped to his knees and swore under his breath. 'Bitch.'

The victory was short lived.

Her vague smugness at achieving a one-up on her attackers faded when the smaller person retaliated and kicked her in the head.

It hurt.

Nausea built within and she can't fight the blackness anymore. The last thing she heard was 'Mummy!'

* * *

Her consciousness comes and goes.

Hands run over her face.

There is a sense of movement.

Her ears pound.

Sirens.

Lights flash.

She pushes it away, but her hands won't cooperate.

Darkness takes over once again.

* * *

When Allie woke up next, she shut her eyes immediately as the white lights shone too brightly. Opening them gingerly once again, she looked at the roof. Having spent far too much time for her liking in a room like this one, she recognised her surroundings immediately.

She was in a hospital.

Groggily looking around, she tried to encourage her mind to get cranking and think.

'Mia!' her mind shouted wordlessly seconds later. Flying up off the pillows, she ignored the throbbing in her head and the needle in her hand as she looked around frantically.

The hospital door was open, the television was off, the blinds let in slivers of streetlights and the chair beside her bed was occupied. She let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding as she identified its occupants.

Nick was sitting in what must be an exceedingly uncomfortable position – legs sprawled off the edge of the plastic chair, one arm splayed over the armrest at an odd angle, his other holding the most important thing in her life in his arms.

Mia was safe.

For once, her daughter was not occupying all available space, and was instead curled up into a small ball, her hands fiercely gripping Nick's shirt as she slept in his lap.

Relief at finding her daughter there soon turned into fear. She tried to control herself, but the panic began to settle in. Needing to get away and out of this place, Allie began to pull at the tube running oxygen to her nose. When she reached for the needle in the back of her hand, her mind tried to process why she was unable to do anything.

Looking through her tears, she realised that a hand covered hers. Her blurry eyes looked up to find Nick awake and covering her hand.

Giving up on trying to get the needle free, her hand instead gripped Nick's as if it were her only lifeline. 'What happened?' she asked, surprised to hear her voice coming out in a croak.

Nick shifted in his seat as he responded, Mia never waking up, instead just gripping Nick's shirt tighter as he shifted closer. 'You were robbed.'

'Bacchus?' she whispered, tensing.

'We don't know,' responded Nick heavily.

'How did I get here?' asked Allie, struggling to ignore the pounding in her head.

'Mia called 000,' explained Nick with a degree of pride as Allie smiled sadly at her sleeping daughter. 'Uniforms contacted us and then we arrived and you were out cold.'

Nick declined to mention that when the uniforms had arrived, Mia had been distraught, crying Mummy! Mummy! at Allie and uselessly shaking at her mother's form. Mia had refused to let go of Allie when the ambulance officers arrived and tried to do their job, only stepping back when Matt and Emma had arrived on the scene. When he had arrived not long after, Mia's cries had been the first thing that he had heard, and he didn't think he'd ever felt worse than that moment when a tearful Mia saw him and stretched out her arms for him. She hadn't left him since, and had refused to leave the hospital.

Allie didn't need to know that just yet.

She also didn't need to know just yet that Mia had seen one of the attackers.

Allie's eyes hadn't left Mia's small form. 'How is she?' she whispered in pain.

'She's doing fine,' reassured Nick. 'She had a quick chat with Matt when he arrived, but since then she hasn't left your side.'

Allie sniffled. 'Could you please... put her up here...' she started to ask, hating to sound like she was begging.

Nick moved instantly. Releasing Allie's hand, he slid to the edge of the chair and carefully deposited his bundle onto the hospital bed.

Mia remained asleep, but her subconscious was alive and well as she wrapped her arms around her mother and sprawled a little. Allie didn't stop the tears this time as she wrapped her arm around Mia and pressed a kiss to her crown. (Mia would be removed from the bed less than an hour later by Nick at the nurse's order when the she began to flail about and call for her mummy, but for now, but mother and daughter were content.)

Lips still buried in her daughter's hair, Allie's eyes searched for Nick's. 'Where is everybody?'

Nick decided to keep it vague. 'Jen was coming in from a date, we can't get in touch with Simon, and Matt and Duncan are at your place now liaising with the locals. Emma was actually here up to about half an hour ago.'

Mention of her house brought the full possibility of Bacchus attempting to kidnap her daughter to the forefront of her mind. 'I need to get out of here,' she muttered. 'Now,' she continued, her voice strengthening. 'I want out.'

The no-nonsense nurse that entered the room that minute dashed any plans that she might have. 'You ain't going anywhere just yet lovely,' scolded the nurse. 'You've only just woken up and there is always the risk of brain damage.'

'Can't be any worse than usual,' said Nick deadpan as the nurse reached for a needle.

Allie tried to laugh, or send back an appropriately fitting biting response, she really did, but she couldn't. It hurt too much, but then the pain seemed to be slipping away and that was all that seemed to matter.

Before the darkness fully took over her once again, she reached out blindly. 'Promise me you won't let her out of your sight.'

'I promise.'

As Allie drifted into the blissfulness of sleep once again, the last thing she felt was a kiss to her forehead. Smiling softly, cuddling Mia to her, she felt safe enough to slip away.

* * *

_Next Chapter:_ 'What in God's name are you doing out of the hospital?'


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.

* * *

Nick Buchanan glared at the computer screen in front of him. He didn't care what IT said – these new updates for the computers were _not _making the computer any faster, and he swore that the computer had actually slowed down. How was he supposed to get any work done in these conditions?

Clicking the 'Search' button for the fifth time, he growled when the screen froze. He slammed his fist down on the desk when his furious moving of the mouse failed to garner any helpful response on the screen. Indeed, he would have been happy with any response _at all. _But, no.

'Damnit,' he swore, slamming his fist down onto the desk once again.

He'd forgotten that he had a guest when the little girl in his lap copied his actions, and slammed her own small fist onto the desk. 'Damnit,' she declared in a louder voice.

_Oops. _No reprimanding was given as a voice behind him did it all for him. 'Language!' admonished the female voice.

Swivelling in his chair, he looked sheepishly at the new arrival. 'Sorry,' he began to say before he had other things to think about as the little fireball in his lap kneed him well as she pushed off. Mia sprinted across to her mother, stopping just short of Allie Kingston.

Althhough winded, Nick didn't miss the flash of pain that crossed Allie's face as she crouched down to her daughter's level, one hand gripping a desk nearby. 'What's wrong baby?'

Mia's voice was soft. 'Nicky said you're hurt and I have to be careful around you.'

The tears came unbidden and Nick was surprised by the flash of pain he felt. 'Mummy is a little hurt, but because you were such a big brave girl, I'm getting better,' explained Allie. 'You can give me a hug if you want to.'

Mia threw her arms around Allie in a fierce hug, a hug that Allie gave back just as hard.

Seeing Allie faltering, and with balance soon to become a tenuous issue, Nick rose from his chair and placed his hand under Allie's arm and eased her up into a standing position. He doesn't let go of her arm as she swayed ever so slightly and Mia wrapped her arms around the middle of her mother, refusing to let go.

'What in God's name are you doing out of the hospital?' he asked softly under his breath.

'I don't do anything in God's name,' muttered Allie in response, but she didn't step away from him.

Nick ignored her retort. 'What on earth are you doing here?'

'Hospital let me out,' she said succinctly, her eyes on Mia.

'What did you do?' asked Nick incredulously. 'Threaten to take them all hostage if they didn't?'

'Ha ha,' responded Allie. 'It was a, ah, mutual decision.' Her eyes finally lifted and met Nick's and she was surprised to find him so close. 'Ah...'

'Hey Allie,' called Matt as he and Jen stepped off the elevator. 'Hospital let you out?'

'Yeah,' said Allie, stepping away from Nick and his supporting grip. Instead, she headed for the chair closest by – which happened to be Nick's desk chair – and had just eased into it when she tensed up again, hearing Bernice Waverley's voice from across the other side of the room.

'Detective Kingston, what are you doing here?' asked Waverley in her no nonsense tone. Resisting the urge to stand up again and salute, Allie swivelled on the desk and faced her boss. 'I was just um...' she fumbled.

She was saved from digging her usual hole when Duncan and Simon stepped into the bullpen. 'Hey boss, we've got that information you were looking for...' As Duncan trailed off, all detectives looked for the little girl that had been their charge for the day, as this was not something that little ears needed to hear. They were surprised to find said little girl sitting with her mother at a desk. 'Ah hey Allie,' said Simon in confusion.

'Where are we at?' interrupted Waverley impatiently.

'I know that Allie's case isn't ours, but we've made some enquiries.' Waverley nodded her head curtly. 'And ...'

'I already know who did it,' interrupted Allie heatedly.

'We've got nothing to tie _him_ to it,' started Jen. 'No evidence.'

'That may be so,' said Waverley. 'But let's bring the gentleman in for a chat. If he's got nothing to hide, he won't mind sharing his whereabouts on Saturday night will he?'

Everyone looked at Waverley incredulously for a moment. The animosity between the Superintendent and Detective Kingston was notorious, and yet here she was openly assisting Allie. 'Today if possible,' Bernice prompted, and if you looked closely you would have seen the edge of her mouth rise the smallest increment.

Matt snapped up his notepad and he and Duncan made a swift exit to the elevator.

'Anything else to add?' asked Waverley with a raised eyebrow. Nick reached past Allie for his notepad on the desk and both he and Jen made a move toward Waverley as she ushered them toward her office.

Allie was left in the bullpen, Simon having disappeared off somewhere, as she let her shoulders relax. She wasn't going to admit it out loud, but those helpful drugs were beginning to wear off. She bit back a groan as Mia shifted in her lap and looked up at her.

'I'm hungry!' she said determinedly.

* * *

An hour later Allie chucked back her tablets with a guzzle of water. Finally getting those blasted pills swallowed, she capped the bottle once again and placed it on the desk. Gripping the edge of the couch in a firm grip, she knelt down. Pulling up the blanket that had already been discarded and twisted about in the short time that Mia had been asleep, she tucked it under her daughter's form once again.

Brushing Mia's hair back from her face, she pressed a kiss to her daughter's forehead. She rose swiftly when she heard that voice in the doorway. Ignoring the pain, she turned and faced Simon defiantly. She did not want to be seen caring for her daughter in front of that man. 'What do you want?'

Simon raised his arms in surrender in face of the snappy woman. 'Nothing. Just letting you know that Bacchus is finally on his way in.'

'Oh right,' said Allie grudgingly taking one last look at Mia's sleeping form before she stepped toward the door. 'We got anything new?'

Simon shook his head and opened his mouth to elaborate, but the next voice that is heard is that of Jarvis when he steps in behind Detective Joyner. 'What's this about a kid in my building?'

Jarvis' eyes flicker from Simon to Allie to the couch, his eyes resting on the sleeping child flinging off her blanket.

'Ah sir,' explained Allie nervously. 'This is my daughter.'

'Yours?' snorted Jarvis as Allie maintained her eye contact, daring him to disbelieve her. 'Actually scratch that. There might have been a memo about this somewhere – another piece of bloody paperwork that I failed to read.'

Simon's mobile rang and as he left the room as he took the call, Allie and Jarvis stood side by side looking at Mia. 'Do you have any kids sir?'

The response was short and to the point. 'No.'

'Dodged that bullet did you sir?' responded Allie with a grim smile.

Simon popped his head back into the room then and Jarvis was saved from responding. 'Bacchus is on his way up.'

Allie followed Simon and Jarvis from the room with a hard look on her face. She's pulling the door shut firmly and taking the short steps into the bullpen when the elevator doors opened.

She can hear Jen speaking with someone as her eyes search the people stepping off the elevator. 'Heath!' said the blonde detective in a joyous tone.

'Jen!' came the confident response, and with a sinking feeling, Allie turned.

'What are you doing here?' continued Jen. 'I didn't think I'd see you so soon after our date Saturday night.'

The sinking feeling in her gut didn't go away as her eyes made contact with the cocky, confident man that was speaking to Detective Mapplethorpe. 'What can I say, I was in the area.'

'Bacchus?!'

* * *

_Next Chapter:_ ... and the plot grows thicker.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.

* * *

_Fancy meeting you lot here. What can I do for you? No let me guess, you want to know what I was doing on Saturday night. Am I not right?_

Allie pushed open the door into the dark apartment with more gusto than she'd anticipated. Throwing her bag onto the floor, she muttered under her breath.

_What was I doing on Saturday? I was having a very good time, that's what. Ask your Detective Mapplethorpe about that if you don't believe me._

Throwing open the fridge she found nothing. She found the cupboards equally bare. Growling, she reached for the phone and hit speed dial number 3. Her favourite pizza place.

_Now what is it that I have? Ah yes, it's something called an alibi. Am I not right? I think I've got a pretty good alibi don't you think?_

Frowning in confusion when Candice Buchanan answered the phone, Allie mumbled a few words before she hung up the phone and turned to the kitchen doorway.

_Mm, I heard about that little incident on Saturday night. And please don't insult my intelligence by implying I had something to do about it._

Nick and Mia stood in the doorway staring at her sombrely. As she placed the phone on the bench, she realised that she's at Nick's place, not her own.

_Guess Allegra got what she deserved didn't she? (Look at that. He didn't even ask how his daughter was.) (Such a caring man.) _

Suddenly the world seemed to tilt as everything rushed toward her and the pounding in her head got worse.

_Mia was with her? I thought she was with a friend. (And how pray tell would you know that?) I have my sources._

She fought to find it within herself to fight the feeling of exhaustion and nausea, but as Nick and Mia took one arm each and guided her to the master bedroom, she couldn't object for the life of her.

_(Oh, are these the same sources that you used to organise this attack?) For the final time, I had nothing to do with the robbery. _

Swallowing down the pills on order, hating that she felt so weak and vulnerable, she attempted a smile when Mia tucked the sheets around her securely.

_I'm not sure how many times I need to tell you before it gets through to your thick skull, but I had nothing to do with the robbery._

The last thing she heard before she drifted off was Mia reeling off what she wanted for dinner. Comforted by the smell of Nick around her in the sheets and pillow, she slept.

_But I can tell you who did it. What's it worth to you?_

* * *

Allie Kingston awoke suddenly and quickly. The room was dark, but as her eyes adjusted, she made out a form standing in front of the wardrobe at the end of the bed. Tensing at first, she relaxed when she realised that it was Nick.

She grunted as she sat up. Nick turned to her, shirtless, a shirt in hand as she mumbled out her question. 'Whazza time?'

'Hey,' said Nick softly. 'It's late. I've got a callout.' He refrained from mentioning that it was another robbery with a similar MO. 'There's a uniform out front. You going to be okay here alone?'

'I'll be fine,' she said, her fuzzy mind clearing somewhat and she felt better than she had for days. 'Where's Mia?'

'She's just in the toilet. She'll be out in a second,' responded Nick as he buttoned up his shirt. Sure enough, a five year old with far too much energy for 2am in the morning came bolting through the door, sprinted over to the bed and burrowed herself under the covers. After shifting around, Mia finally found a comfortable spot and was out like a light, the only thing visible being Mia's mop of dark hair out of the sheets.

Allie's amused gaze on her daughter shifts when the bed dipped. She turned to where Nick had taken up a seat on the end of the bed and was pulling on his socks and shoes. 'Where you off to?'

'A place,' hedged Nick as he tightened his last shoelace.

Allie couldn't stop the unladylike snort that escaped. She eyed him as she crossed her arms over her chest. 'So much information,' she drawled.

Nick leaned forward with a grin. 'Go back to sleep will you.'

Allie opened her mouth to retort, but she didn't get any words out as Nick's hand cupped the back of her neck and he pressed a kiss to her lips. 'I don't want you to worry.'

She couldn't think of anything to say as Nick stood and left the room. At the last minute she blurted it out. 'Drive safe.'

She groaned inwardly when Nick raised his hand in response and farewell.

_Drive safe? _she scolded herself as she slipped down into the bed again. Drive... Sleep overtook her once again.

* * *

The following morning – but technically only a few hours later – Allie remembered why she was so strict on Mia sleeping in her own bed. The kid didn't even use sheets, and yet she still managed to hog them.

And let's not even mention the constant kicking and moving through the night.

She was really going to have to ask Nick how he managed to keep her fireball in such a confined space when she slept with him.

As these random thoughts pitter-pattered across her mind, she finally got to some type of point. What was it that had woken her up in the first place? Looking to the left she saw Mia still sprawled out fast asleep. Reaching over her daughter, she looked into Nick's alarm clock. _8:43? _Wow.

She heard a noise again, and realising that it was the doorbell, she groaned as she pulled back what was left of the sheets covering her and stepped out of bed. She's standing in one of Nick's work shirts as she opens the door and finds Matt and Simon standing there. With Mia suddenly behind her, the two Kingston girls looked at their visitors blearily.

Words were too much of an effort at this point in time, and so she just opened the door and ushered them in. Heading to the kitchen for coffee, she gestured in Matt and Simon's direction, wordlessly asking if they also wanted a hot drink.

Matt declined, Simon accepted and Nick suddenly stepped in the door with a request of his own. 'Nicky!' called Mia as she eagerly placed her orange juice on the counter and sprinted over to the tired man stepping in the door. Nick swung her up into his arms easily as he exchanged a glance with Matt and Simon. Allie caught this look and held the kettle in midair as she looked at them suspiciously. 'What is going on?'

Nick reached for his coffee and took Mia out of earshot as Matt stepped forward to explain. 'We need to speak to Mia about what she saw on Saturday night. There was another robbery last night and we need a description.'

'No,' said Allie shortly.

'C'mon Allie,' reasoned Simon. 'We'll be nice and gentle and if she doesn't want to continue, we'll stop. We can do it right here and you can be right there.'

'Practice that on the way over?' shot back Allie at Simon before she eyed Matt with a heavy sigh. 'Keep it short and sweet, and it's over when I say it is.'

'Done deal.'

As Matt took a seat in a chair, Simon sipped his coffee standing up and Mia bounced up and down in the middle of the room, Allie dropped onto the couch next to Nick, cradling her own hot brew. 'Nice clothing choice,' whispered Nick into Allie's ear and it's now that she realised that she's still dressed in his work shirt.

'Shoot,' swore Allie as she dropped her head to Nick's shoulder and then decided that she didn't care. Discovering that where her head now rest was actually exceedingly comfortable, she remained sagging there as she sipped her coffee and turned her attention to where Matt was questioning her daughter.

'It's okay if you don't remember,' emphasised Matt. This explanation was met by a scrunched up face from Mia. 'I have a really really good memory,' retorted Mia. 'I beat Georgie at cards every time. I never forget _anything._'

'That's nice of George to let her win,' said Nick under his breath.

Allie snorted softly. 'Nice? She literally thrashes him every time.'

'Mummy!' interrupted Mia with her hands on her hip. 'I was talking.'

'Sorry baby,' said Allie as she sat up attentively. 'That was rude of me. You keep talking to Matt.'

Mia nodded her head in her mother's direction before she faced Matt once again – the same detective that was struggling to cover his smile – and commenced her tale. 'There were two people there. One was a man and one was a lady.'

'How did you know it was a lady?'

'She had boobs,' said Mia factually. 'But I couldn't see her face.'

With Matt taken aback by the five year old's bluntness, Simon laughed. 'Fair enough.'

'And the man was really tall – taller than Nicky – and he had blonde hair just like yours,' continued Mia. 'He had a really mean face.'

'Did he look like this?' asked Matt carefully, removing a photo from his file. Allie looked at Matt in alarm, wondering where the picture had come from as Matt studiously ignored her and placed the photo on the table.

Mia looked at the picture with a serious look on her face before she nodded her head decisively. 'Yep that's him – but he didn't have a beard.'

Matt exchanged a look with Simon before he faced Mia once again. 'Thank you for all your help Mia.'

'Did I help a lot?' asked the child eagerly. 'Are you going to catch the bad man and bad woman who hurt Mummy?'

Matt exchanged a glance with Allie, who drew in a sharp breath as Nick squeezed her hand, and it's Simon that answered. 'We'll catch them.'

* * *

When the two robbers were identified as Gene Lawley and Stacey Burnett, there was no stopping Allie coming out for the arrest. A surprised Stacey was caught easily enough, but Gene did a runner. Fed up with Nick and Duncan's attempts at subduing their flailing suspect, Allie walked up and kicked him where she knew it would hurt.

The men released a collective groan as Gene fell to the floor. Refusing to let him cower, Allie pulled him up and pushed the winded man up against the bathroom wall. 'You bastard,' she spat out. 'What right do you think you have breaking into people's homes and scaring the life out of them.'

'We only wanted to steal valuables,' whimpered the grown man. 'It all would have been fine if you hadn't woken up.'

'Well I did wake up,' said Allie in a deadly tone. 'And so did my five year old daughter. She was five for chrissakes and she had to see scum like you breaking into her home.'

Seeing a man making their way over to them, Gene turned to the detective with a beg. 'Get this woman under control.'

Nick shrugged as he pulled Allie's handcuffs from her back pocket and handed them to her. 'You got yourself into this miss,' he said mildly with a soft slap to Gene's shoulder, a soft slap that actually carried a fair bit of punch. 'You sort it out.'

* * *

_Next Chapter:_ Allie gets an early Christmas present that she really wishes she could return.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.

* * *

Christmas decorations hang from the roof, silver stars twinkling as they turn, large red ornament balls scattered around and a Christmas tree holds the place of honour in front of the service desk. Christmas carols beat out happily from speakers positioned around the salon.

Todd McMahon is talking into the phone as he flips through the appointment book. 'Sorry dear, we don't have anything free for next Wednesday. How about next Thursday at the same time? Would that suit?'

Sonia Murray-Farrell sits in the chair getting her hair cut by Penelope della Franca. The elderly customer talks at a mile a minute about her prized grandchildren as the middle-aged hairdresser professionally snips away and inserts murmurs and comments at appropriate moments.

Monica Hastings sits in a chair flicking through a magazine. The excitement of the upcoming dance is written all over her face as hairdressing apprentice Savannah Pangborne brings the teenager a drink and checks the time left before the dye needs to be washed out.

Pam Holden sits in the chair getting her hair restyled by Maggie McMahon. She has one eye on the mirror to monitor the hairdresser's progress, and the other focuses on where two of her children are playing in the little foyer nearby.

Four year old Valour Holden is attempting to stack up blocks, but his 22 month old sister Grace is putting a damper on his activity as she happily knocks each tower down. The two young children are joined by their older sister Liberty when she parks her bike outside the store after school not much later.

There is a jingle in the air as the door opens: Liberty Holden and Todd McMahon pass each other as one steps in and the other steps out. The nine year old waves to her mother as she races over to her younger siblings.

Liberty makes fake monster sounds and monster claws as she stomps the last few steps amid joyful cries from Grace and laughter from Valour. Her charade continues as she flops down onto her knees and pretends to eat her baby sister as Valour laughingly tries to stop her.

Her charade is complete as she arches up and then jokingly falls upon Grace, hiding her from sight. At the exact moment that Liberty fell, a loud bang rent the air.

There was no time for screams. Mirrors shatter, smoke fills the air and debris goes flying. As the roof begins to falls, the ornament balls shatter and sparks fly all around.

In that awful moment of silence that followed, the only noise that can be heard are the strains of _Santa Claus is Coming to Town_ wafting out from some unseen speaker.

_He knows if you've been good or bad, so be good for goodness sake... _

* * *

Allie Kingston sat with her head propped up on one hand, the other hand flittering over the pages as she looked unseeingly at the report before her. A cold coffee sat on the edge of her desk, the mug half full and long neglected.

Her mind was on other things. After they'd caught Gene Lawler and Stacey Burnett, she'd taken the rest of the week off. Mia had returned to school, and although Bacchus was still around, part of her was glad that Mia hadn't been the target for the robbery.

Having received the all-clear from the doctor, she'd returned to work yesterday and had hit the ground running, although she'd avoided Jen, not willing to face her after the detective had provided her nemesis with an alibi.

Pushing it all aside, she began to read the words in front of her once again. That exact same moment was when Jen suddenly appeared at her right. _Speak of the devil_. Startled, Allie's hand knocked over her cold coffee, the brown liquid spattering across some of her paperwork and pooling in the empty spaces on her desk.

'What?' she said irately to the blonde detective as she pulled various paperwork free of the mini-deluge. Jen took a step back from the angry woman. 'I wanted to talk. Well apologise,' the detective hedged.

'For?' questioned Allie sharply as she pulled a tissue from her bag and began mopping up.

'I'm so sorry about the whole Heath/Keith incident. I didn't know he was Bacchus, and if I did, there was no way that I would ever have gone out with him,' said Jen quickly. 'I'm so sorry.'

Allie looked at her a moment, before her anger faded away. 'Yeah I know. It's not your fault. The bastard has a habit of getting what he wants, when he wants and how he wants.'

'If I'd known he was Bacchus, I ever would have gone out with him,' repeated Jen, wringing her hands.

Allie snorted. 'I doubt you would have had a chance. He would have found a way and just used you.' She turned back to her messier than usual desk. 'But thanks anyway,' she muttered.

A tentative truce reached, both women turned in unison as Waverley ran – no, that would be too undignified for the older woman, walked swiftly – into the bullpen. The men also looked up from their respective positions as their superintendent addressed them all.

'Bomb at a hairdressing salon on Cleveland Street. Get moving.'

* * *

Three hours later, Matt sat down at the meeting table after his interview with Irene Siddle. Nick is jotting down notes on his notepad, Simon is flicking through files and Allie pushed a carton of Chinese toward Matt as Duncan nodded tiredly at the newcomer and turned back to the whiteboard, drawing the last of several lines connecting the pictures scattered across the board.

Waverley is standing off to the side and looking at the interweaved picture incredulously. 'Let me see if I've got this straight: Dan Holden has a wife and three kids who were blown up at the hair salon.'

Duncan capped his pen and stepped back. 'Yep.'

'Mr Holden also has another daughter – a daughter who was an apprentice at that exact same salon?' continued Waverly. 'Yep,' confirmed Simon. 'Savannah Pangborne is his teenage daughter.'

'Which the wife did not know about,' interrupted Matt. They all turned to the detective as Matt elaborated. 'We just spoke with Pam Holden's mother Irene. She'd never heard of Savannah before.'

Jen dashed into the room on the tail of Matt's comments. 'I've found it. Dan Holden is living another life as Ned Ford. Savannah is the child of Luisana Pangborne and Ned Ford aka Dan Holden.'

'Doesn't get any points for name creativity,' said Allie sarcastically as Nick began to speak.

'We've got another angle,' said Nick as he stood up. 'Allie and I were looking into the hairdressing salon owner – Todd McMahon.' Nick paused for emphasis and pointed at man's picture. 'Apparently Mr McMahon owes several debts to Edward Pianon, otherwise known as...'

'Heavy Eddy,' finished Waverley. 'What about the other staff and customers? Any other family or mob connections there?'

Duncan shook his head. 'The other hairdresser Penelope della Franca checked out. Sonia Murray-Farrell and Monica Hastings have no connection...'

A phone rang and Allie excused herself from the room. She was back within minutes and caught the end of Duncan's reel. 'That was the hospital,' she explained as she took her seat once again. 'Maggie McMahon's still in a critical condition, but Grace Holden only has a few cuts and scratches and should be able to go home tomorrow. Wherever home may be.'

'No other survivors?' asked Waverley.

Allie shook her head. 'Pam Holden died on the operating table. And the rest are already on their way to our friendly morgue.'

'Who's doing the death knock in Interview Room One and Two?' said Simon as he leaned back in his chair. 'Thank you for volunteering Detective Joyner,' said Waverley wryly. Reaching the doorway she turned back. 'Keep me posted.'

Simon followed Waverley from the room as the remaining detectives nod and mutter their assent and turn to their cold Chinese and the case files. Allie dipped her plastic fork into Nick's box, snaring a broad bean as they began to discuss what evidence they have.

Allie was swatting Nick's chopsticks away from her own box when a cough at the door brought a halt to their conversation and everyone turned. Standing there in the doorway was a pregnant woman with a baby on her hip. 'Excuse me? My name is Solange Bentley. I'm looking for my husband.'

'I'm sorry, who is your husband?' asked Nick as he stood up from the table and made his way over.

The woman hitched her baby higher up on her hip. 'Harry Bentley. He rang earlier and said that he was being detained here.'

Nick looked at his fellow detectives and saw the same ignorance reflected on their faces. He turned back to the young woman. 'I'm sorry. We're not holding a Harry Bentley here. Maybe try downstairs...'

The woman shook her head stubbornly. 'He's here. Hold Ruby for a moment...' Solange planted her baby in Nick's arms as she delved into her handbag. Caught unawares, Nick was pulling faces at baby Ruby in moments.

Solange located her wallet and opened it. Turning it to the table, the pregnant woman showed the Homicide detectives a picture of her husband. 'This is my husband. Harry Bentley.'

'Is that...?' asked Matt as he squinted and Jen took control. 'Perhaps it would be best that you came into an interview room with us now,' coaxed Jen as she rose from her chair and grasped the young woman's elbow. Nick followed close by.

After the trio (and a half) had left the room, Allie looked to Duncan incredulously. 'Harry Bentley is Dan Holden _and _Ned Ford?!'

'Just how many women does this man have duped?' questioned Matt as they all shook their head in wonderment and prepared to delve headfirst into paperwork and theories once again. But before they can start, another voice is heard at the door. 'Excuse me.'

'Who do we have now?' muttered Duncan under his breath. 'Any chance they're related to a Holden, Ford, Bentley or any other car type?'

Allie swallowed her prawn cracker as she turned to the person Duncan's mutterings were aimed at and promptly choked as she identified the man. Gulping her water, she stood up quickly. 'He's got nothing to do with the case. He's with me.'

She left behind the two men in the room as she escorted Abe McBride to a more private place to talk. Rounding the corner, she spun and faced her lawyer. 'What's so important that you had to come here?' she asked bluntly.

'Well for starters, I can't contact you by phone,' said the lawyer in a disapproving tone. 'And somehow I think you'd rather knowing what _I_ know tonight instead of being hit with a nasty surprise tomorrow morning.'

The two hot-headed people faced glared at each other for a moment before Allie shrugged her shoulders and looked at McBride pointedly. 'So?'

'I've just gotten wind of new info about Bacchus' application before the court for custody of your daughter.' McBride paused a moment as he took a deep breath. 'The hearing's been brought forward to next week. You're going before a judge on Wednesday.'

'You've got to be shitting me,' swore Allie. 'Court's not supposed to be until after Christmas. What the hell happened?'

'Apparently Bacchus helped a fair bit on a recent case of yours and so the bigwigs upstairs have greased the wheels and lo and behold Christmas has come early for him,' said McBride in a flat tone.

'Bastards,' muttered Allie as she began to pace, one hand running up and over her ponytail. 'What happens now?!'

'Well, the Department is doing diddly-squat, and we're facing an uphill battle,' said the lawyer. 'From what I've heard, Bacchus is going to blame your job for long hours away from Mia, use your recent burglary to show you're living in an unsafe area and he's going to try and argue that there was an arrangement that when he was released, he'd be a part of his daughter's life.'

'There was a bloody arrangement,' yelled Allie. 'And it didn't involve him one iota.'

'He's got Nigel Salter in his corner and they've got Jenner Hackshaw representing him at the hearing Allie,' said McBride seriously. 'This isn't your regular Joe Bloggs in the Yellow Pages. These men eat human beings for dinner and spit out their bones.'

Allie was seething when she left Abe McBride and marched over to her desk fifteen minutes later.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that her desk was still spattered with the coffee spill from the morning - a morning that felt like so long ago now. It had felt like such a big annoying thing earlier today, but somehow in the face of everything she'd faced since, it didn't seem to matter now.

It was time to prepare for war.

* * *

_Next Chapter: _Bacchus is in for a rude shock. Or two!


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.

* * *

'Where were you this afternoon between 3 and 4pm?'

'I was at work. Like usual.'

'Anyone that can verify that?'

'My boss and the other hundred odd workers on site.'

'So you had nothing to do with the bombing?'

'My family died there today and you have the audacity to think that _I_ had something to do with killing my children.'

'Well did you?'

'Of course not! I'm grieving here.'

'You see why we have a little trouble believing anything you say. You have three different families.'

'Well actually, it's f… Hey that's my life – and you just keep your sticky beaks out of it.'

'It's an avenue of investigation we need to pursue.'

'An avenue? How about you start barking up some other trees and actually find some decent suspects.'

'Well, when our options are a lying, cheating bastard looking to get rid of a family or an owner looking to trash his own business, you don't come out looking too good sunshine.'

'McMahon didn't die?'

'No, Mr McMahon survived the blaze.' Pause. 'Along with your daughter.'

'Right.'

Standing behind the observation mirror, Allie didn't bother hiding her disgust. Simon and Duncan were tag-teaming, interviewing Dan Holden as he tried to justify his polygamy, plead his innocence and pass the blame onto anyone that wasn't himself.

The fact that he'd lost a wife and three children in the blast didn't seem to bother Dan Holden that much. In fact, upon being advised that baby Grace had survived it, he'd even looked a little annoyed. And grief? He was only the distraught father and husband when it suited him.

Men – fathers – like these made her wish that they would cease to exist as a species. As Simon and Duncan wrapped up the interview, Allie stormed from the observation room and shared those exact thoughts with the team now gathered in the bullpen once again.

'Wow,' said Nick as he looked up from the papers in his hand. 'What did we all do this time?'

'Why is it that men are never willing to take responsibility for their own actions, are always sticking their heads in other people's business, and basically just going out of their way to hurt people. Why can't he leave things as they are? I mean, for god's sake…'

Nick grabbed Allie's arm and stopped her mid-sentence, steering her away from the bullpen. With limited options on where Allie could explode, he pushed her into the staff room. He figured the blunt approach would be best. 'Talk to me.'

'Don't tell me what to do,' said Allie in a harsh tone as she turned away from him. Wanting to do anything but talk about her outburst (and inevitably Bacchus), she headed for the cupboard. 'Coffee?' she asked. Without waiting for his response, she slammed two mugs onto the bench and began spooning in the coffee and sugar.

'Sure,' said Nick belatedly as he crossed his arms and leaned back against the island bench. Give her a moment alone and she'd either crack or explode.

He was hoping for crack personally.

His wish was granted when as the kettle began to boil, Allie dropped the teaspoon, stretched her arms out along the bench and dropped her head, her back to him. 'I can't do this anymore.'

Struggling to hear what Allie was saying, Nick responded quietly. 'What can't you do?'

'I can't fight this fight anymore,' she whispered. 'He just keeps getting a one up on me.'

Nick thought that he might have heard tears in her shaky voice, but knew better than to bring it to her attention. Instead, he pushed himself off the bench and covered her hands with his own as he pressed against her back. His fingers worked hard to entwine themselves in her clenched fists as he spoke next. 'Talk to me,' he repeated.

'Bacchus got the court date shifted to next Wednesday,' said Allie. 'The fight for custody is next week. Next week,' repeated Allie, still unable to believe it herself.

'Shit,' said Nick, the expletive slipping from the lips of the normally mild-mannered man.

'My sentiments exactly,' responded Allie as her fingers slipped free of his and she turned in his embrace.

'What about Hollyoake?' pushed Nick, their continued close proximity bothering neither. 'What's Pete and the department got to say about all this?'

'Absolutely nothing,' she spat out bitterly. 'I'm heading to court next Wednesday on a wing, a prayer and a furtive hope that the judge is maybe the only one left in the world yet to be touched by Bacchus' corruption and bribery. What are my odds?' She snorted in response to her rhetorical question.

What was he supposed to say to that?

'I'm just so tired,' Allie whimpered, her head falling to Nick's chest.

She vaguely sensed an arm wrapping around her, but could also feel her rock moving. At the edge of her weariness she heard a voice. 'Hey Stella? Can you put Mia on the phone? Ta.'

It took several long moments for her to realise that a phone was now being held to her ear and that a voice was speaking to her. 'Hey baby…' she said softly as her daughter's voice came over the line.

Listening to her daughter prattle on about the monster face she had made today out of a paper plate, scraps and pasta and the book she had read at school and the game she had played at lunch and the cool new slide at the after school care and how she'd annoyed Georgie while he was talking on the phone to his _giiirrrlllffrrriiieennnnddd_ Allie felt some light and hope beginning to return.

She felt like she could conquer anything once again when she wrapped up the call fifteen minutes later. Flipping the phone closed, she handed it back to the man who seemed to have a knack of making her feel better.

'Is that reason enough to keep going?' asked Nick as he pocketed the mobile.

'I hate it when you're right,' she mumbled under her breath. 'Don't gloat,' she said, a sore loser, pushing off Nick's chest as she moved to the door.

'Hey,' reasoned Nick. 'I'd do anything for my family.'

Allie stood stock still, frozen on the other side of the bench. 'What did you say?'

'My family?' repeated Nick cautiously, wondering if he'd overstepped a boundary by staking a claim. He was ready to retract his comment when Allie's eyes focused on him once again. 'That's what Dan Holden said.'

'What?' Nick asked in confusion.

'His whole family didn't die,' said Allie as she moved once again. Nick followed in confusion as Allie sprinted from the room, dashed to the interview room and then ran to the bullpen. 'Where's Dan Holden?'

'We had to let him go,' said a startled Jen from her desk.

'Yeah, wife number who-knows-what was kicking up a fuss and we had nothing to hold him on,' added Matt.

Nick'd caught up by now and sat on the edge of Duncan's desk as Allie began to speak. 'Dan Holden was told that Grace had survived, but he told Duncan in the room that his whole family was dead.'

'So?' said Simon. 'Grief can do that to you.'

'He wasn't overly enthusiastic about the discovery that Grace had survived though,' said Duncan slowly.

'And he wasn't heading to the hospital to see her either,' contributed Jen, fiddling with a pen. 'The latest wife took him straight home.'

'Looks like Mr Holden wasn't the only one doing some bed-jumping,' put forward Allie.

'You reckon Grace isn't his child?' asked Nick.

'Well, how many fathers do you know look more miserable upon discovering that one of their children has survived as opposed to dying?'

'Point.'

'And guess who he was disappointed to find out had not died in the blast?' asked Simon before answering the question himself. 'Todd McMahon.'

'Well, what are you waiting for?' said Waverley, suddenly making her presence known with a commanding voice. 'Bring in Mr Holden for another chat.'

* * *

Arresting Dan Holden was surprisingly easy. The fact that Solange Bentley had locked him out of the house and he was stark naked on the veranda screaming his head off helped them considerably.

'Go to hell you bastard,' screamed Solange over her baby's cries as Simon slapped the cuffs on their blushing suspect.

'Guess he married the wrong woman last time round,' said Matt wryly as he watched Simon and Allie lead Dan to the police car, an officer having taken pity on the naked man and given him his jacket to hold over his private parts.

'And that is why I'm going to remain single for the rest of my life,' summed up Duncan as Nick joined his workmates. 'Up for a little detour on the way home boys?'

Matt and Duncan looked at each other in confusion. 'Come again?' asked Duncan.

'There's someone I need to pay a visit to,' said Nick shortly.

'What do you need us for?' asked Matt.

'To make sure I don't do anything stupid.'

* * *

Keith Ryan Bacchus had been expecting an altogether different package on his doorstep when he answered the door that evening. The three men blocking out the streetlight did not have the curves and allure of the Miss Sapphire he'd anticipated.

He recovered swiftly though and faced the man that he'd always known was going to be trouble. 'Mr Buchanan,' he said smoothly. 'And company,' he added.

'You know why I'm here,' said Nick, getting to the point.

'You assume I know a lot,' responded Bacchus. 'And despite my considerable knowledge, I haven't the foggiest idea what might bring the likes of you to my doorstep. Enlighten me.'

'Cut the crap Bacchus,' said Nick in a hard tone. 'I will only tell you this once, so listen hard.' He took a step forward. 'Drop the case, get out of their life and get out of state.'

'Or what?' taunted Bacchus, refusing to back away when Nick stepped forward.

'Do not try my patience.'

Bacchus actually laughed. 'Well, this conversation has been most interesting, but if you will excuse me, I have some other things that I need to do,' said Bacchus with a smile that did not reach his eyes. 'Actually, you've reminded me. I need to speak with those laywers of mine. Make sure that everything is on track for Wednesday. Don't you think that this house would be perfect for Mia,' he taunted.

All reason left Nick as he pushed the insufferable man into his house and slammed him against a wall, arm tight against his windpipe, with a threat. 'Stay away from them.'

'Assault! Assault!' gasped Bacchus in an exaggerated tone. 'You're my witnesses,' he declared, pointing at the two other detectives.

'I didn't see anything,' said Duncan amicably. 'How about you?' he asked conversationally, turning to the blonde-haired man on his left.

'Not a darn thing,' responded Matt.

Seeing any potential assault charge go out the window, Bacchus decided to hit Nick where he knew it would hurt. 'No matter what happens, you're never going to be her father,' he said in a smug tone. 'You'll never bet the one that fu…'

Nick's fist was clenched and raised in the air before he knew it, but thankfully Matt and Duncan were just as quick. They grabbed Nick by the shoulders and pulled him off Bacchus. 'It's not worth it man,' said Matt.

'Allie would kill you herself if you do that,' added Duncan. 'Do you really want to jeopardise her chances?'

'And I don't want to be the one to tell her that you've landed yourself in jail,' warned Matt. 'I think Emma would like me home in one piece.'

Calmed down enough, Nick pointed his finger at Bacchus. 'I'll be seeing you again,' he gritted out. The smirking man pushed himself off the wall as Nick shrugged off his 'protectors' and walked out.

'Gee, should I be nervous?' said Bacchus and his merry, taunting laugh could be heard as he shut the door and the three men made their way down the path. Walking past the perfectly manicured gardens, they stopped when three other men approached them.

'Keep walking Buchanan,' said Peter Hollyoake as he cut between Matt and Duncan. 'I'll handle this.'

* * *

_Next Chapter: _Wednesday arrives and Allie finds out what Nick did.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.

* * *

'Let's get this show on the road,' boomed a voice from the front of the courtroom and Allie almost jumped as a heavy woman took her seat on the chair. 'Justice Nighy has the flu, so I'll be presiding over this one. I'm Justice Georgia Emmerich. Parties?'

Allie and her lawyer sat together, and as she looked across to her opposition, she failed to see Bacchus anywhere. What she did see was the impeccably dressed Nigel Salter conversing with another well dressed man who must be Jenner Hackshaw. Both dapper men were in deep conversation, their whispers becoming louder and urgent and Allie could hear snippets. 'What do you mean he's not here? … You're telling me this now… I couldn't care less … I'm still demanding payment…'

'Excuse me!' said the imposing woman before them. 'Is there a problem?'

Hackshaw was already on his way out the door – stopping long enough to bow to the front of the room – the door swinging open at his exit. Allie's gaze wasn't on him for long as Mr Salter rose from his seat, buttoned his jacket and – looking more nervous than she had ever seen him before – visibly swallowed and addressed judge. 'Your Honour, we may need to withdraw this application.'

_What? _

'And why is this only coming to light now?' demanded the Judge. 'I was under the impression that this was an emergency hearing of greatest importance to determine the safety of the child in question.'

'Safety?' whispered Allie angrily to Abe McBride next to her, but Abe raised his hand to shush her and it's now that she noticed he had his head inclined and was speaking to someone. She could recognised that jet black hair anywhere.

Hollyoake!

She was summarily ignored once again when Hollyoake shifted back, took a seat behind them and crossed one leg over the other as McBride stood up. 'Your Honour, it has only just come to our attention too that the other party has failed to arrive today and as such, I move that the application be dismissed.'

'Will you client be making another application on this matter?' fired Justice Emmerich at Nigel Salter.

'No Your Honour,' responded the lawyer with a degree of relief that came from knowing that a painful experience was about to come to an end.

The annoyance was rolling off the relief Judge in waves. 'Fine. The application by Keith Ryan Bacchus for full custody of Mia Whitney Drake Kingston is denied. Allegra Marie Kingston has full custody.'

Allie was too scared to breath, if only to find out that this was all a dream and she was about to wake up. Abe wasn't done yet though. 'We also draw your attention to a document that was signed by the applicant five years ago giving up all parental rights. Due to a clerical error, the document was not filed appropriately with the court.'

'Your point Mr McBride?' pushed the judge.

'We request that Mr Bacchus be stripped of any and all rights as a parent to Mia Whitney Drake Kingston.'

'Any objections?' asked the judge, aiming the question at the other side.

'No, Your Honour,' responded Salter, confidence exuding from him once again.

'I order that Keith Ryan Bacchus shall be stripped of his rights as a father to Mia Whitney Drake Kingston,' declared the irritated woman. 'Anything else?'

Both lawyers spoke in a chorus. 'No, Your Honour.'

'Dismissed,' said Justice Georgia Emmerich as she rose. 'Oh, and Mr Salter…'

'Yes ma'am?'

'Work on your client skills.'

* * *

You would have thought that the good news would have had Allie walking on air, but as she left the courtroom and approached Hollyoake, she was fuming. 'What the hell just went on there?'

The black haired man hung up a call before he turned smartly on the spot, easily depositing his phone into his front pocket. 'Nothing you need to worry your pretty mind about Allegra,' said Pete, looking down at the furious young woman before him.

'You've now decided to step up and do something,' Allie seethed. 'You couldn't do this earlier? I had to suffer through two months of this crap, only to arrive on this blasted day and realise that it's all gone away. What is with that?'

'These things take time,' responded Hollyoake calmly, not a worry in the world. 'You should be thankful that today ruled in your favour.'

'What did you do?' asked Allie, refusing to let go. 'Kill him and hide the body?' she suggested incredulously before she paused, raising her finger to her chin. 'No, that would be too much effort for you. Couldn't have you getting dirty could we? You probably got your minions to do it for you.'

'We weren't the only ones lining up,' Pete said, eyes glinting.

'What?' asked Allie in confusion, the response interrupting her planned spiel.

'Ask that gentleman of yours,' suggested the cocksure man as he checked out his nails.

'Wha- Nick?' clarified Allie. 'What did Nick do?'

'Let's just say that I wasn't the only one out for blood.' Seeing his hopefully-soon-to-be-gone-problem momentarily confuzzled, Hollyoake took the opportunity to push home another point. 'Don't mind the thanks Allegra.'

Looking at the expectant face, Allie gritted and forced herself to appear gracious. Whatever it was that he had did, he had done something that had resulted in Bacchus departing her life once and for all. 'Thank you,' she managed to spit out.

'Now that wasn't too hard was it?' responded the smug man in a sing-song tone. She resisted the urge to deck him. 'My work here is done and I have a lovely lady or three waiting for me.'

'Wait, where is he?' she called after the third most despised person in her life, behind Bacchus himself and her mother, needing to know for sure that he wasn't coming back.

'Where do you think?' called Hollyoake over his shoulder as he crossed the floor. 'Perth.'

Her 'success' now beginning to sink in, Allie turned and shook hands with Abe McBride. She was surprised to find her palm sweaty. 'I'll be in touch when the documents are ready, but until then, go share the good news with your daughter,' said Abe, a weary smile on his face.

'Thanks,' said Allie, pausing a long moment before she spoke again. 'I know I haven't been the easiest client... so... '

'If every case ended like this, I'd take a hundred clients like you,' responded the lawyer. 'I'll be in touch,' he promised as his mobile rang. Nodding his head, he stepped away and Allie stood alone for a moment.

Her good mood at a successful resolution wasn't going to let Nick off the hook though.

She had arranged for the whole day off – uncertain of how long the hearing would take – and as she walked toward the train station nearby, she hit number 2 on her speed dial. 'Be at my place after work,' she said in a clipped voice and hung up before he could answer.

He was a smart man – he would know exactly what the short message was all about.

* * *

'So how did it go?'

These were the first words out of a puffed Nick's mouth when she opened the door to him at 8:36pm. Part of her felt guilty for stringing up along all day not knowing how her hearing had gone, but she pushed it down as she remembered what he had done. 'I got full custody,' she said, keeping her voice as neutral as possible.

'You did?' came the shocked response. 'That's fantastic. So he's…'

'With no thanks to you,' she interrupted. Nick stepped into the house and she slammed the door behind him, regretting it instantly and hoping that Mia would not wake up as she turned on the current focus of her attention. 'What on earth were you thinking?' she angrily said, monitoring her voice levels.

'I was looking out for you and Mia,' he protested, his voice calm.

'I can do that perfectly well myself thank you,' retorted Allie. 'I've been doing just fine for the last five years.'

'Oh really,' scoffed Nick. 'So all those time that you've broken down and I've been there to pick up the pieces, you've been handling it just fine yourself?' he fired back. Realising instantly that he had made a mistake, he raised his hand before Allie exploded once again. 'Okay, that came out wrong…' He began an attempt to apologise, but Allie had stormed off into the lounge room. 'Allie… Al…' he called after the infuriating woman.

He finally caught up with her and he grasped her shoulders and spun her around to meet her. His hands were already grabbing Allie's, halting the anticipated shove in retaliation and he held onto them tight as he dropped his head and met her defiant eyes. 'I know that you can look after yourself perfectly well,' he said seriously. 'You've done a fantastic job raising Mia on your own. But I just want you to know that I'm here for you if you need me. Either of you.'

'Well, is there any chance that this looking after business could come about without any death threats and the like,' responded Allie exasperatedly as she pulled her hands free and took a step back.

Sensing that he had weathered the storm and that the worst was over, Nick ventured an answer. 'I can try,' he said. 'But…'

'… no guarantees,' she finished for him and he was relieved to see a small smile cross her face.

'What have you told Mia?' he asked, changing the topic, not willing to go any further down that other path quite yet.

'I told her last weekend that there was a possibility that Bacchus would be seeing a lot more of her,' responded Allie, releasing a whoosh of air, the memory and pain of that conversation still fresh in her mind. 'It didn't go down well.'

'Poor sprout,' said Nick sympathetically. 'She wouldn't have liked that.'

'She didn't,' agreed Allie with a snort and roll of her eyes as she took a seat. 'She was scared that she was going to have to move away – leave. But she was trying to be this strong little girl and not let me worry, but it was painful to watch Nick. She hasn't been sleeping well either.' Her eyes followed Nick as he took a chair opposite her. 'I told her this afternoon that she wouldn't be seeing her Daddy anymore and you know what she did?' she asked rhetorically, throwing her hands up in the air. 'She promptly burst into tears!'

Nick had no chance to insert any thoughts or words as Allie ploughed on. 'But you know what?' she declared, pushing on her knees and standing up with more energy than she'd felt in a long time. 'It doesn't matter anymore, because we've now seen the last of him. Beer?'

* * *

There was a comfortable silence between the two detectives that sat in the lounge room.

Allie sat on the edge of a chair, elbows braced on her spread knees, a half-full beer hanging loosely in her grip. 'Do you remember the first time I met you?' asked Nick, sitting opposite her on the couch, lounging back with a leg crossed.

'I was ranting, raving and screaming bloody murder to anyone that came near me,' laughed Allie. 'And if memory served me right, you were one of the few that were willing to come even within a few metres of me.'

'I don't know what was wrong with me!' Allie picked up her discarded beer cap and threw it at the smirking man opposite her. 'Hard to believe it's over five years ago now.'

'Hmm, time flies,' agreed Nick. Gesturing in Allie's direction with his own beer, he posed a question before taking a sip. 'Did you ever go see the therapist back then?'

Allie snorted. 'Once,' she scoffed in response. 'The guy told me to go say three Hail Marys and all would be absolved.'

'Seriously?' laughed Nick, swallowing the last of the beer quickly before it escaped out of his nose.

'No!' laughed Allie. 'But it was just about as useful.' She shrugged her shoulders. 'I had Mia then, so nothing else mattered. Plus I get to catch scum like him every day of the week, so the therapy is right there.'

'So we're your therapists are we?' said Nick cockily.

'Well, I've got to admit that they've all been top-notch,' shot back Allie. 'Except one particular guy: about six foot tall, has a weird liking for pale pink shirts and my daughter. Can't say he's helped much.'

'Thanks,' said Nick sarcastically, throwing the beer top back at the smiling woman opposite him, taking a sip of his beer as she caught the flying object easily. 'I haven't seen you smile like that in a long time.'

'I haven't felt this happy in a long time,' countered Allie, gulping down the last of her beer.

'Al,' said Nick seriously.

'Hmm?' said Allie absentmindedly as she stood up, her empty beer bottle in hand.

'I just want to say for the last time that I'm sorry for what I did,' he said as she took his beer bottle, his hand covering hers.

'You're just lucky I love you,' responded Allie, her hand slipping free as she headed for the kitchen. The bottles were put in the recycling box and she opened the fridge to get two more. She shut the door and found that she was unable to move.

Nick's arms came to rest on either side of her on the refrigerator and she was trapped. His lips came down slowly to cover hers, stopping a few centimetres short. She bit her bottom lip as she made out his face in the dark. She released her slightly bruised lip as her eyes looked upward, finding his eyes glinting in the shadows. After a few moments of both parties making a move and then backing off just as quick, his lips covered hers.

As she deepened the kiss, Allie's eyes closed and she wrapped her arms around his neck, the two forgotten beer bottles clinking lightly against each other. Needing to breathe, they parted a short while after and she sought out his eyes once again. 'Should we be doing this?'

'Do you really want to argue about that now?' said Nick in a strangled voice, breathless himself.

'Point.'

The beers were discarded on the kitchen bench as Allie wrapped her arms and legs around Nick and he walked them from the room. The path was a little wavy as their attention was otherwise diverted to more pleasurable exercises as their lips met each other once again.

The hallway wall was the nearest solid surface that they backed into. Allie's legs remained wrapped around Nick's as his fingers reached for the bottom of her shirt and pulled the garment free. Her own fingers were working furiously on freeing Nick's buttons on his work shirt.

They got no further as a cry sounded from the back of the house. 'Mummy!'

Ripping her lips from Nick's, Allie stilled her hands on Nick's bare shoulders under his shirt as she groaned at the interruption, but nonetheless moved quickly to answer her daughter's call. 'Time for me to go be a Mummy,' she said as she unlocked her legs with some effort and slid down his long form. She made sure to place pressure on his lower regions on her journey to the ground. The reaction was instantaneous.

'You're just lucky I love you,' he groaned as he watched Allie reach for her discarded shirt, swatting her butt as she passed him by.

Allie grinned over her shoulder. 'I know.'

* * *

_Next Chapter: _The story wraps up with the beginning of a new year.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.

* * *

As the last of the fireworks shot across the sky, and young families around her began to pack up, Allie turned to where Mia lay on her back on the picnic blanket looking upward. Candice Buchanan – Nick's teenage niece, and their charge for the evening – was lying on the other side of Mia, the pair of them having been two peas in a pod all night. Stella and her family were on an adjoining picnic blanket. 'You ready to go home yet?'

Mia was on her feet before she'd even managed to finish the question. 'I'm not tired!' declared the five year old, immediately taking evasive action. 'Come on Candy, I'll race you,' shouted the excited child as she ran for the playground, leaping over the surprised Georgie in the process as she left her mother behind.

Allie's eyes followed the running and laughing duo as Stella's son flew up from his picnic blanket and chased after them. It was New Years Eve, she decided. If Mia could stay awake until the midnight fireworks, so be it.

Rolling her eyes when Georgie finally struck up the courage to flirt with Candy, but knowing that her daughter would be safe with the two love struck teenagers, Allie allowed her eyes to turn back to her surroundings.

Content with her own thoughts for the moment, Allie surveyed her companions for the evening. Stella was talking with her stepdaughter Zoë and her boyfriend, whilst Nick was leaning back on his arms, talking cricket with Stella's husband Phil, Phillip Jr. having just been selected for the state under-19 team.

As she leaned back against Nick's chest, she allowed herself a hidden smile when he pressed a kiss to her head and maintained his conversation, allowing her mind to fall back on the events of the past month.

The morning after the Bacchus' application had been dismissed and Nick had stayed over, Mia had taken to the presence of him in the kitchen with a kiss, hug and a demand to know what was for breakfast. In the three weeks since then, Nick had been a permanent fixture in their life. And in her bed.

They'd decided to keep their fledgling relationship from the team, but that didn't stop her from revealing the good news to her co-workers that Bacchus was gone once and for all, and she was the only parent of Mia. Never one for tears, she'd found herself tearing up once again when she'd thanked them all for their support. She'd managed to get 'thank you, so much' out without disgracing herself too badly.

The only dark cloud over that celebration had been the absence of one of their team: Simon Joyner had faced Waverley and been ordered to hand in his badge and gun after the balcony, unarmed suspect fiasco. The last image they'd all had of this troubled detective was of a man at odds with himself, the elevator doors closing on his turbulent face.

Allie knew what it was like to be in a dark place, and as much as she and Joyner had butted heads, she wished him all the best in sorting out his life.

With the police force tight on staff, her request for time off before and after Christmas had been denied. Instead, she'd pulled the Christmas Eve shift, and then time off until New Years Day. Nick and Duncan had pulled the unfortunate Christmas shifts: Nick the morning and Duncan the afternoon.

This had meant a quiet Christmas morning for herself and her daughter – the same way it had been for the five Christmases past – but this year, it had felt too quiet, like something was missing. Christmas dinner had been anything but though, the entire Buchanan clan having descending down upon Melbourne.

Arriving on the doorstep of Nick's Great Aunty Bea's place late afternoon, Mia had been whisked off by her much loved 'cousins' dare she say, and she'd been ushered into the kitchen by Nick's sister-in-law Lisa Buchanan.

Her inability to cook anything complicated was a long running joke between herself and Nick. The blasted man was still hankering for that three course meal that he seemed to think that she was going to make him. When they'd sat down for dinner that night, she'd tried to offload the Christmas smorgasbord before them as her obligations fulfilled.

The recently arrived Nick had just snorted and given her a look. 'Hey, I peeled the potatoes,' she'd tried to reason. Funnily enough, he wasn't sold.

Most of Nick's family had left by New Years Eve, but when Nick's brother Andy had arranged a night out with his wife, they'd somehow been roped into taking Candice for the night, Conrad and Cassidy bundled off to Lisa's sister's for the night.

Allie's thoughts were interrupted when the support currently propping her up suddenly dropped away. Managing to prevent herself from falling backward too, she turned and wondered why Nick had moved. She spotted the reason instantly: Mia had pulled at one of Nick's arms and at the unexpected action, Nick had fallen flat onto his back on the ground. This daughter of hers was beyond caring though as she tried to read the watch on Nick's wrist.

Getting in on the game, Nick was making it hard for her as he wiggled his right arm. Mia's solution was to plop herself on Nick's chest. As the poor man released his breath with a whoosh, Mia victoriously snatched up his arm and read the time. Feeling mischievous, and her daughter within her grasp, Allie extended her arms and began to tickle her little rugrat.

As Nick protested at the shifting weight still on him, Allie transferred the laughing bundle to her lap. Mia almost had tears running down her cheeks as she tried to escape the torture. Allie finally gave her daughter a reprieve and both mother and daughter were still laughing as she loosely held her arms around the five year old.

Realising that she was now in her mother's grasp, Mia quickly scrambled out. 'I don't want to go home yet!' she said, pre-empting what she swore was coming out of her mother's mouth next.

'We're not going home yet squirt,' laughed Allie. 'Just take your water bottle with you.'

Mia eyed her mother for a moment, searching for any sign of subterfuge before she shrugged her shoulders, nodded to her head, dove for the water bottle on the blanket and dashed off. Her screeching voice could be heard as she ran across the park. 'I told you Georgie, it's not yet midnight!'

Blocking her ears in an exaggerated manner, Allie turned to Stella. 'I don't know where she gets that from,' she said dryly. 'Shut up,' she added quickly, raising a finger in Nick's direction, not needing to turn to know that that annoying man had a line or two ready.

'I wasn't going to say anything,' responded Nick innocently. Resting a hand on Allie's upper thigh, he placed pressure. 'How about a hand up here Al?'

Amazingly, two and half hours later, Mia was still going strong. Getting ready for the fireworks, Mia was sitting high up on Nick's shoulders as Allie stood close by. Stella, Georgie, Candy and various other family members were in the near vicinity.

'Folks, we've got five minutes til the Big Bang,' came the booming voice of local celebrity O.K. Simms over the PA. 'So grab those kids of yours running riot, gather your loved ones around and keep your eyes to the skies for a spectacle like none other seen before. You'll… My word, will you look at that. It's a shooting star…'

As the crowd looked upward and ooh-ed and ahh-ed, Candy called out loudly. 'Make a wish!' As everyone around them yelled out random things, Allie looked up at Mia. 'You got a wish baby?' she asked the surprisingly quiet child.

Mia shook her head vehemently. 'I don't need this wish.'

Nick and Allie exchanged a quick glance. 'Why not sprout?' asked Nick, tilting his head up as much as he could to try and catch the face of his passenger.

'I already got everything I ask for,' said the young Kingston in a certain tone.

'Really?' asked Allie in surprise.

'Well…' continued Mia thoughtfully. 'Not quite everything yet. Nicky needs to hurry up and ask you to marry him first.'

'Mia!' sputtered Allie, flushing as she scolded her daughter.

The next few moments were chaos as Allie turned away and Mia egged Nick on. 'C'mon Nicky. Ask her!' she encouraged. 'I saw you put the ring in your pocket.'

Allie's eyes came flying around to Nick's then and when she saw him fumbling in his jean pocket, her eyes widened. Mia was already climbing unassisted down Nick's body with ease before grabbing her mother's arm and pulling her closer.

'Nick…' warned Allie as his hand reappeared from his pocket as a closed fist and he began to drop to one knee on the ground.

Mia helpfully tugged on her mother's arm and guided her Allie's right hand to Nick's. Nick flashed the youngster a smile in response and grasped the hand warmly, never minding that it was the wrong hand for a proposal.

'Allegra Kingston,' he said seriously. 'Would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?'

Allie looked at him wordlessly, neither noticing the building crowd around them. Somewhere at the back of her mind – feeling as if she had left her body – Allie thought about the different names she was called: the team called her Allie, Nick called her Al and Mia called her Mummy. The use of her full name – a la Bacchus and Hollyoake – usually had her temper flaring, but looking into the serious eyes of Nick, she found herself wanting to hear it again. Looking at his face, she realised that he was still talking.

'I love you,' said Nick. 'And have down so for a while now. Seeing you every day made me want to be with you even more. Surprisingly.' As Allie laughed at this, she was surprised to find tears running down her cheeks. She never cried! 'I love your daughter as if she was my own and nothing would make me happier than for us to be a family.' He took a deep breath. 'Al, will you marry me?'

Unable to restrain herself at the jolly exciting prospect before her, the thrilled Mia was being held back by Candy with some difficulty, as Allie had still yet to say a word. (When Mia got even more excited, Candy actually covered her possibly-soon-to-be cousin's mouth in order to shut her up.)

Hearing and seeing no answer to his question, Nick began to stand warily, releasing Allie's hand. Perhaps he had been a little presumptive in assuming that marriage was on the cards. Perhaps he was moving to quickly. Perhaps she didn't…

'Yes.'

Did he hear that right? His hopeful eyes sought out hers as her voice became more certain and she repeated the affirmation. 'Yes, I'll marry you,' said Allie, releasing a breath in a loud whoosh, pushing aside the practical part of her brain that was already what if?-ing.

A wide grin spread across Nick's face as his arms shot out and he pulled Allie toward him. He didn't care about the ring as he pulled his brand new fiancée in for a kiss.

Mia was beside herself with the sight of Mummy and Nicky wrapping their arms around each other and kissing. The minute Candy's grip loosened just a little, she pulled herself free and bolted the short distance to wrap her arms around the two people who loved her most in the world.

Seeing that they weren't going to be stopping anytime soon, Mia grew impatient and tugged at Nicky's pocket. 'Nicky! Nicky!' she cried urgently.

The sensation of something pulling at him, and vaguely hearing of Mia's voice, Nick pulled back slightly, the elation clear on his face as he looked downward. 'Mm?'

'You've got to give her the ring!' whispered Mia loudly as all around laughed out loud.

Nick and Allie laughed too as Nick slide the ring onto his wife-to-be's finger and quickly kissed her once again. Nick's hands hadn't left Allie, but no more words could be spoken as suddenly they were the centre of attention.

'Ladies and gentlemen,' crowed O. K. Simms. 'It's the night of joy and celebration, and so let's all put your hands together for the happy couple…' The larger than life figure was holding his microphone expectantly as he paused, gesturing for names to share the good news. 'Mummy and Nicky!' called out Mia helpfully before Stella assisted. 'Allie and Nick.'

'Allie and Nick!' repeated Simms as the crowd around them cheered in congratulations. 'What a Happy New Year it will be for these two. And as for the rest of you, get ready to hug that loved one, kiss that stranger and keep those new year resolutions! In five. Four. Three. Two. One… Happy New Year!'

As Nick and Allie kissed once again, beside them, Mia's cheers and Georgie's whoops were overpowered by the fireworks lighting up the night sky.

* * *

**Author's Note: **That is the last chapter for this story. I've had a blast writing it, and if the muse should so strike, I will be back with a sequel at some point – most likely when Season 4 returns to our screens. Thanks to all for reading and reviewing.


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